Family and Assassins
by wraithgirl2004
Summary: What would you do if your brother was an Assassin?
1. The Start of Something Evil

At the police station, Mrs. Hardy listened as the police officer that arrested Joe explained how Joe was seen leaving Westbrooke Manor (see the last chapter of Love, Lies and Assassins) "We contacted your daughter-in-law and according to her, she wants us to drop all charges against your son. The DA agrees with her. He's free to go."

"Thank you, officer."

"But I think he should be careful from now on. I wouldn't count on good luck like this happening twice."

In the car, Fenton glanced at Joe and then asked, "What on Earth were you thinking?"

"I wanted to find out what's going on."

"What do you mean, 'what's going on'?"

"Don't you think that Taylor's just a little too good to be true?"

"I think that Taylor is a young woman that has had a series of misfortunes. I suggest that you try to consider everything before saying something like that."

"But what if she's working with the Assassins?"

"I think I've heard enough on this subject." Fenton focused on the road and ended the conversation. Joe glared out of the window next to him. There had to be some way to prove that Taylor was connected to the Assassins. But with Frank in her corner, there wasn't much he could do.

At the new Assassin headquarters, Frank watched Taylor as she took careful aim at the target. "Nice touch, getting Joe out of trouble." He commented as Taylor hit the bull's-eye.

"I thought it would be."

"Now what?"

"With the operation in LA starting and the operation here about to truly start, I thought that we would get a few others on our side."

"Good."

"What made you join us?" Taylor turned her attention completely on Frank.

"Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering what made you join the Assassins. It just seems odd to me that I never said a word about it and all of the sudden, you decide to join the cause."

"Let's just say Joe had everything to do with it."

"I'm lost."

"My brother started researching you shortly after I met you."

"I see. So he's known all this time who my father was. He was laughing at me behind my back."

"Pretty much."

"And the Gray Man? What happened to him? I don't buy into the whole thing about him killing himself. That would be too easy… too pleasant."

"From what I know, he met the Angel of Death. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Is Iola still coming over? I want to talk with her about a few things."

"How did Iola join?"

"Simple, she was kidnapped at the mall, with the intentions of someone taking her place. The bomb in your car was meant to draw out your father and give my father a chance to replace Walker. With two spies within, the Assassins would have made sure that the campaign would either fail or insure that we had someone on the inside. Sadly, the bomb went off before it was supposed to. Our agents panicked and then the order came from an unknown source to kill you and your brother. There was no way to simply release Iola. She came up with the idea on how we could let her go. Especially when it was learned that the Network planted a bomb in your car that was twice as powerful as the one that we did. There was enough C4 to destroy an armored tank, much less your car."

"That's why there wasn't anything left."

"Exactly. Now you see the reasons why I loathe the Network."

"Don't worry. Soon, the entire planet will feel the same disgust that you do."

"In world wide news an organization simply known as the Network has attacked areas of the following countries: Zambia, Slovenia, Morocco, Finland, Cameroon, Bulgaria, Armenia, Honduras, Lesotho, Qatar, Uzbekistan, and Vanuatu. A letter was sent to the UN that reads 'the Network has stood by and watched as the world has allowed itself to fall into a state of moral decay and death. We will attack this decay until it has been cleaned away. We will not rest until all leaders agree to implement a Constitution that we have written. The Network will soon show you the error of your ways. To resist will spell your destruction. We have not shed blood yet, but we will.' The attacks were aimed at buildings that had been abandoned for quite some time. It is unknown when the next Network attack will occur."


	2. If You Could Call This A Truce

Joe and Fenton gaped at the TV in the den. Neither said anything for several seconds. Joe finally asked, "What do you think is going on?"

"I don't know. I have to check something." Fenton went to his office and accessed the Network's mainframe. He then slammed his fist on the desk. "According to this, Network agents are in every single country that had been attacked. There's a message in my e-mail account that says I should be ready to be contacted in case I'm needed."

"Wait…tell me that's some kind of joke."

"I wish it were. If this is real, that means that we're just now seeing what the Network is really up to."

"I think Taylor had something to do with this."

"And just how would she know how to get into the mainframe?"

"Frank knows how to hack into it."

"Are you saying that your brother would willingly work with the Assassins?"

"Willing or not, that could happen."

"No…I don't think so. Right now, we should try to get in touch with him and the two of you are going to work things out." Fenton turned to glare at Joe. "Regardless on what you think of Taylor, this is one time that this family has to pull together 100 or else, we're going to end up in a lot of trouble."

Three hours later, Frank and Taylor arrived, as normal, Killer was with them. Taylor smiled politely at Fenton and Mrs. Hardy. Aunt Gertrude had opted to go out for the evening and wasn't present. Frank ignored Joe and asked his father, "What's going on?"

"I take it you saw the news earlier today."

"I can't say that I'm surprised. With everything that they've done, nothing about the Network shocks me at this point."

"I was sent a rather disturbing email, basically asking me to side with them in what's going on."

"You're going to turn them down, right?"

"Of course, but that may not matter. If I'm right, anyone with any connection to the Network is looking at charges of terrorism."

"What do you need me to do?"

"For right now, I need you and Joe to get along so we can work together and find out what's really going on." Frank looked thoughtful and then nodded. Joe stared in shock and disbelief. He wanted to yell what had happened that night that he had been arrested, but without proof, there was no way any one would listen to him. Joe silently vowed to discover a way to expose Taylor and get Frank not only out of trouble, but away from then Assassins. He and Frank shook hands, each with his own agenda.


	3. Dark Conversations

Chet Morton knew his friends. He also knew that there was something seriously wrong if neither were talking to each other. With Shadow next to him, Chet wandered around the farm, lost in his thoughts. That was when he heard a noise from one of the barns that had yet to be finished. Moving close to the door, he listened as a voice hissed, "I don't understand why we're here."

"Simple, the sooner we take Hardy out of the picture, the sooner we can go on to the next target."

"I'm bored with hiding here. If we get caught, there's no way they'll get us out of prison."

"If the Gray Man hadn't ruined everything, we'd still be hiding out somewhere else. It was his fault for not checking to make sure that the girl was dead before he started this little idea of his."

"So…what do we do now?"

"We'll have to find another place to hide tomorrow. I heard that they're going to finish this building tomorrow afternoon."

"Why not just take over the house? We can make them hide us."

"And risk getting caught that way? Are you really stupid or do you enjoy sounding that way?"

"It's not like the cops come out here or anything."

"Sure…we just move right in and tell them what…don't tell the staff not to go and report the people that are holding their employers hostage? Like I just asked, are you really stupid or do you enjoy sounding that way?"

"I'm hungry!"

"So am I, but you don't hear me harping about it."

"I hope I never see England again. What was the bright idea that got us into this mess to begin with?"

"Spring Break."

"Oh, yeah. So after we waste the guy, what then?"

"We do as the boss wanted and start looking for the next target."

"But she saw us."

"So…I guess we put her out of our misery for free." Chet backed away from the door. As he did so, he tripped over a tool that had been left out and fell, knocking over other items. The two men that had been arguing raced out and stared at Chet before they tried to grab him. Shadow jumped in front of Chet and growled at the two men. The two stopped and stared at Shadow nervously. One asked, "He won't bite us, right?"

"As long as you don't move." Chet looked around and saw some ropes that had been left there by one of the workers. He forgot why they had been used, but was now thankful. "I want both of you to put your hands behind your backs and stand perfectly still." The men did as told and Chet tied their hands behind their backs. Once finished, he led them to the house and called the police.

"In breaking news, two members of the Network were arrested at the Morton family farm today. It's still unclear why the men were there and police are certain that there are other members of the Network in the area. A mandatory curfew has been set. No one that does not have a reason to be out after sunset is to leave his or her home at that time. In other news…" Joe glared at the TV as the reporter went on with the next segment. At the rate things were going, it was going to be impossible to find out the information that he wanted. Also, he had a feeling that a modern day witch-hunt was going to start. At the rate that the 'Network attacks' were growing, people were going to start claiming that neighbors were up to dangerous activities. He turned and headed for the door, deciding to have a talk with Chief Collig before things got too far out of hand. At the police station, officers were running this way and that as phones were ringing off the hook. Con Riley was at his desk, on the phone with someone that was giving information faster than he could write it down. "Miss, please slow down. Okay, are you certain that you saw your neighbor with a gun…you are…Okay…what was he doing…I see…we'll send someone right over…what is his address?" When the call was over, Con Riley handed the slip of paper to a passing officer. The officer glanced at the paper and headed to the door. Con Riley looked up at Joe and said, "Ever since this morning, we've been getting phone calls left and right. People are starting to panic. One woman thought that she had been sent a bomb because she heard ticking from inside the package. It turned out that her husband had bought her a clock for their anniversary."

"This is starting to get out of hand."

"You're telling me. So, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if anyone said anything about Taylor and Frank yet?"

"No…why?" Con Riley looked thoughtful and asked, "Are you about to jump on the band wagon with everyone else that wants fifteen seconds of fame?"

"No…I was just wondering."

"Let's put it this way, the only call we've gotten about your brother was a neighbor saying that we should give him an armed guard. From the way she was talking, you'd think that another nut was going to…" Con Riley stopped and then glanced over his shoulder at a closed door. Joe sensed that something was up and tried not to ask. Sooner or later, he would find out. Con Riley turned back and then said, "You didn't hear about this from me, but your friend, Chet, overheard those guys that he found talking about killing Frank and Taylor."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. They even confessed when the ADA asked them." Joe left, confused. What was going on? Had agents inside the Network actually turned rogue and were now terrorists on their own? He shook his head. There was still the matter of Taylor, blatantly stating that she wanted to see him in the past tense. Joe got in the van and then started to wonder what else could go wrong.

"Vous comprenez vos ordres, corrigez ? " «You do understand your orders, correct? »

"Nous comprenons parfaitement." «We understand perfectly. »

"Je détesterais pour avoir à dire le Mentor que vous avez échoué dans votre tâche." «I would hate to have to tell Mentor that you failed in your assignment. »

"Tout est à sa place. Tout nous avons besoin de faire est attend le signal et alors nous commençons." «Everything is in place. All we need to do is wait for the signal and then we begin. »


	4. The Beginning of Fear

WARNING: There will be a LOT of violent acts in this chapter. I do not approve of terrorism and any similarities to any events that have occurred were not intentional. Thank you.

At the mall, Fenton Hardy waited as his wife examined a dress that she had seen in a store window. He noticed that the mall was less crowded than normal and most of the stores were closed. Some with signs that read that the closing was temporary; others had signs that flat out stated that they were closed for good. The store clerk smiled at Fenton nervously as Mrs. Hardy selected the dress in a different color. It was clear that the strain was starting to get to her. No one knew who to trust and who not to trust. It was getting to the point that everyone was jumping at shadows. A noise in the mall grabbed everyone's attention. There was a loud BANG and a cloud of smoke. People began shoving each other out of the way as they ran from the explosion. Fenton tackled his wife and the store clerk as gunfire could be heard. This went on for twenty nerve-wracking minutes. When it was all over, Fenton helped the two women stand up. The store clerk fell back to the floor, shaking and sobbing.

"In local news, explosions and gunfire plagued the Bayport Mall this afternoon. Sources say that devices had been rigged to explode inside the mall. While these explosions did not cause any damage, the noise send shoppers into a panic seconds before a group of armed individuals began firing at random toward the crowds as they fled. A total of 95 people were injured, and a total of 65 were killed. Chief Collig has decided to contact the FBI on this matter. He will give a press conference at the end of the week."

Joe raced to the hospital, certain that something had happened to his parents. Once there, he saw his father in the hall, pacing. Joe ran over and before he could say anything, Fenton told him, "We're okay. Your mother wanted to ride here and stay with the girl that was near us when everything started. The girl went into a type of shock and your mother wanted to make sure that she's okay." At that moment, Frank and Taylor arrived. Fenton repeated to them what he had said to Joe. Frank relaxed visibly and then said, "When we heard the news, Taylor tried calling, but no one answered."

"Understandable. Are the two of you alright?"

"We're fine. But, Taylor's had a few phone calls. Some nut has been calling and hanging up. I told her not to worry, but…" He then gave a shrug. Joe tried not to glare at Frank. It wasn't clear if the attack at the mall was the work of the Network or the Assassins. For the moment, he had to wait and hope that he could find some type of connection.

Two hours later, there was another attack. This one was in Florida. Someone had rigged several coach buses with explosives and had left them parked outside on a bridge that had been closed off for construction. When the explosion took place, the bridge was destroyed.

Half an hour after that, someone had sent two hundred body bags filled with mannequins to a TV station in California.

Less than an hour after that, the police at a middle school were alerted when someone called and informed them that the world's largest kidnapping had taken place when men with FBI badges had removed all of the students from the school. The men claimed that the students were to be taken to a nearby hospital due to a threat that one of them had been infected with a dangerous toxin. The only way that the teacher learned that this wasn't true was because one of the students was her son and she had called the hospital to check on him.

The reporter paused and then continued, "Such attacks have been carried out in other countries as well. Police all over the world are baffled and fear that sooner or later the Network will begin performing acts of violence that will cause a pandemic. The president has asked that all citizens report anything unusual the moment that they see it." Aunt Gertrude turned the TV off and said, "I feel like a prisoner in this house that's waiting for something horrible to happen."

"We'll be fine." Mrs. Hardy protested as she stood to leave the room. "We can't just go into hiding because of this."

"We are NOT going to be fine! We're in danger if we go out; we're in danger if we stay home. We're in danger if we stay in this country; we're in danger if we leave the country. No matter where we go we're in danger!"

"I have an idea." Taylor stood and looked at each of them. "We just recently purchased a large estate. It's loaded with the latest in security devices and it's fully staffed. We would be safe there."

"What makes you so sure about that?" Aunt Gertrude glared at Taylor.

"Because I know that as long as we don't panic and give into fear, we'll be doing the exact opposite of what they…" She motioned toward the front door, "wants us to." Joe was against the idea, but was out voted. He had a feeling that there was something else on Taylor's mind as it was decided to bring as many of their friends as they could in order to make sure that they were safe.


	5. Conversations

"Ich bin gegen dies". «I'm against this.»

"Und ich soll mich sorgen, was Sie denken, weil .."«And I should care what you think because...»

"Es ist unklug". «It's foolish.»

"Sie werden wünschen, dass Sie nie das gesagt haben". «You will wish you never said that.»

"Stellen die zwei Narren war ein gefährliches Ding auf, zu machen. Was, wenn sie anfangen, die Wahrheit zu erzählen"? «Setting up those two fools was a dangerous thing to do. What if they start telling the truth?»

"Welche Wahrheit? Wir haben nur ihnen einen Nachnamen gegeben. Wir haben nie ihnen den Vornamen vom Ziel erzählt". «What truth? We only gave them a last name. We never told them the first name of the target.»

"Aber was wenn .." «But what if...»

"Ich schlage, dass Sie auf jetzt gleich schließen, oder sonst ich werde sein ein Einzelkind vor". «I suggest that you shut up right now, or else I will be an only child.»

"Ich sage nur, dass an den Ratendingen gehen, werden wir die Welt in einem gesamten Staat des Chaos in einer Frage der Tage haben". «I'm just saying that at the rate things are going, we'll have the world in a total state of chaos in a matter of days.»

"Das ist nicht das einzige Ding, das ich will. Regierungsbeamte sind unkluge Leute. Mit den Spionen, die ich innerhalb ihrer Ränge gepflanzt habe, bald wird das Netz ein Ding von der Vergangenheit sein". «That's not the only thing that I want. Government officials are foolish people. With the spies that I have planted within their ranks, soon the Network will be a thing of the past.»

"Alle von diesem nur, vom Netz befreit zu werden".«All of this just to get rid of the Network.»

"Mehr als das. Ich habe alle von dies angefangen, einen Plan den unser Bruder zu beenden, und ich habe vor seinem Tod angefangen". «More than that. I started all of this to finish a plan that our brother and I started before his death.»

"Und jener Plan war .." «And that plan was...»

"Je weniger Sie um es wissen, desto sicherer mein Plan ist". «The less you know about it, the safer my plan is.»

Joe looked around the new mansion, silently. It was clear that Taylor had more than enough money to spare when it came to buying what ever she wanted. There were security grates on the windows that were rigged to close if the alarm went off. There were proximity detectors everywhere, along with devices that he had never seen before. Guards walked around, some with lethal weapons and others with no lethal weapons. Killer and Shadow gave each other minutes of examination and seemed to decide that they could put up with each other. Killer wandered back to Taylor and Shadow returned to Chet. Taylor smiled at her guests and said to them, "If there's anything that you need, feel free to ask and I'm certain that we have it. If not, I'll find some way or another to get it for you." Mr. and Mrs. Shaw smiled, clearly thankful to be away from their home. The Morton family was still shocked about what had happened at their home and what was happening around the world. Aunt Gertrude admitted that it was possible that they were safe and went to her room to relax before lunch. Joe waited until he was alone with Iola before he asked, "Don't you find all of this to be a little strange?"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it…all of this started when Phillip Walker came here. And then…" He looked away and then continued, "Don't you find it a little strange that the daughter of the guy that tried to kill you is…"

"Stop right there. Taylor's gone through a nightmare and the last thing she needs is you accusing her of something."

"But…"

"Not another word on this subject." Iola walked away. Joe grumbled under his breath and stalked off. What he didn't know was that Frank had been watching the entire thing from the shadows.

Frank went to where Taylor was fencing against an employee. After she had scored a point, Frank motioned for the man to leave. With a look of gratitude, he did so. Without a word, Frank picked up the abandoned weapon and challenged Taylor. Moving out of range of her first attack, he told her in French. "Mon frère va être l'ennui." «My brother is going to be trouble.»

"Ne pas s'inquiéter. Il n'y a pas quoi qu'il peut nous faire." «Don't worry. There isn't anything that he can do to us.» Taylor responded, attempting to score a point with her foil.

" Vous sont sûr ? Je ne veux pas que tout il ait ruiné que vous avez traité si loin." «Are you sure? I don't want him to ruin everything that you've worked on so far.» Frank blocked the attempt and went for one of his own.

"Aussi longtemps que nous restons des calmes, la mémoire de mon père sera vengée. Mais j'ai quelques questions de mon propre. Quand avez-vous décidé de commencer aider me ? Il est votre frère, après tout. Et le plus important ; pourquoi ?" «As long as we remain calm, my father's memory will be avenged. But I have a few questions of my own. When did you decide to start helping me? He is your brother, after all. And most important; why?» Taylor jumped back and then stopped for a moment to watch him carefully.

"Pas l'inquiétude, je ne vais pas vous trahir. Pourquoi je ferait quand j'ai fait quelque chose pour vous." «Don't worry, I'm not going to betray you. Why would I when I did something for you.» Frank moved forward, another attempt for a point on his mind.

"Et c'est-à-dire ?" «And that is?» Taylor refused to drop her guard

"Vous vous rappelez que vous avez dit de l'Homme Gris ?" «Do you remember what you said about the Gray Man?» Frank aimed carefully, knowing that Taylor was about to give him an opening.

"Yes...You're le l'un cela. .." «Yes...You're the one that...» Moving out of range, Taylor connected the dots rapidly.

"Cela a raison." «That's right.» Frank waited as Taylor's thoughts seemed elsewhere.

" Mais que. ..when...why?" «But what...when...why?» Taylor dropped her arm to stare at Frank.

"Parce que votre père n'est pas le seul l'un qui devrait être vengé." «Because your father isn't the only one that should be avenged.» Frank easily scored the point and left Taylor standing where she was.

In his new room, Fenton sighed as he unpacked. Mrs. Hardy turned to her husband. "What's wrong?" She asked him.

"There's something that's troubling me."

"What?"

"I'm worried about Joe."

"Why are you worried about him?"

"It's almost as if there's something on his mind that he doesn't want to talk about. Something's happened between him and Frank and I don't like it."

"I'm sure it's nothing. It's just that when Taylor found out about her father the way that she did, that may have caused a small rift."

"I don't think so. You saw the way that they were fighting that day. I want to get to the bottom of this before it gets any worse."

"Will you relax, I'm certain that they'll get along again soon."

"Right now they have a truce between them until we can figure out…"

"No." Mrs. Hardy grabbed her husband by his shoulders. "I want you to promise me that you'll stay out of this mess. A mad man almost killed our oldest son and our daughter-in-law. I want us to stay as far away from the crisis as we can get. Promise me that you won't get involved in this mess. You saw the strain that it's putting on Gertrude."

"I know, Laura. But…"

"But nothing. Let…it…go…promise me."

"I promise." Mrs. Hardy backed up and smiled at him. Fenton then added, "Let's see what we can scare up for lunch." Laughing, Mrs. Hardy wrapped her arms around him and followed him from the room.


	6. Escape

It had been three days since the last Network attack. The one that would come frightened people to the point that they demanded that the President be impeached instantly. The new President of the United States made the following changes:

A new task force, known as Operation: Zero Tolerance was put together.

A curfew for anyone that had no reason to be out on the streets after sun set was imposed.

Police made background checks at random.

If seen talking to any person that was thought to be connected with the Network, a person was placed under house arrest.

If a person was convicted of a crime connected with the Network, the automatic sentence was 45 years to life.

For reasons unknown, no one cared. Mainly because arrests were finally being made. People then began to suspect their neighbors even more. Finally, a phone call from England truly set things off.

Joe awoke to the sounds of chaos. Quickly getting dressed, he ran into the hall and saw staff members carrying boxes of items and other things. Frank was busy directing traffic and Taylor was on her cell phone, talking in a foreign language at a very fast pace. As everyone else gathered around, waiting to learn what was happening, Frank spotted them and hurried over. "Start packing."

"Why? Has something happened?" Fenton asked as a staff member raced by, carrying two boxes.

"Some one leaked the fact that you knew the Gray Man to the police."

"When did that happen?"

"From what I heard, early this morning. Chief Collig risked his job passing that information to us."

"So now what?"

"Taylor was able to find somewhere that we can go. They won't be able to approach it to arrest you…or Joe."

"Wait…they want both of us?"

"Both of your names were given to Operation: Zero Tolerance. I don't know why mine wasn't, but…" He glanced at his watch. "We've only got four hours to get away from here. After that…" He then went to help the staff. Joe stared in shock. Who would do something like that? And most important, why? Once everyone was packed, Taylor instructed the driver to go directly to the airport. On the way there, she told them, "I found a tropical paradise that was for sale. It's directly in-between to nations in International waters. That means that it will take them years to figure out which country to go to."

"You bought an island?" Mrs. Hardy asked, trying to get over the events that had just happened.

"That's right."

"But…"

"It's worth it. I consider all of you to be my family, even though with everything that has happened to my family." She paused long enough to give Joe a poisonous look, "I'm not certain if you can take that to be a compliment."

At the airport, the group was taken to the plane and in a matter of moments they were in the air. Once the plane landed, Mr. Morton looked around and asked in shock, "Where are we?"

"Paradise." Taylor smiled and added, "There are no extradition laws in this area. And it's up to me if they can search even one area here. Not that they would put that type of man power to searching this island."

"And what makes you so sure about that?" Joe demanded.

"Because I don't think that they are going to search 400 acres of land for two people." Aunt Gertrude looked impressed by the size. Joe tried to think of an argument that would work against that. But, as long as everything else that Taylor had said held any amount of truth, there was nothing that he could say or do. For the next few days, they divided into four groups on the private jet as homes were put together. Taylor sent the jet back to Bayport to pick up the rest of the staff. After that, for months things were built and flown in to make the stay on the island more like home. Taylor also began to have other things built to help them relax. After a power plant was built, the small houses had electricity that came from something other than noisy generators. Taylor had hired the best scientific minds that she could find in order to make sure that everything was safe for the tropical environment. Joe, determined to find the evidence that he needed, was doing all that he could to ignore the relaxing state of mind that the beach was tempting him with. It was after the power plant was built that he ended up with a surprise. As a way of being friendly, Taylor flew Nancy Drew and her friends.

Nancy left the plane and looked around. "This is something new." Next to her, Ned grinned and stretched. On the other side, Bess and George were taking in the sights while trying to figure out what was going on. Joe approached the group and Bess let out a squeal of joy at seeing him. Grabbing his arm, she threw several questions at him at once, "Have you seen the size of this place from the air? Who owns it? How did they find out about us? Why would they invite us here? What's the catch? Is there a mystery that they need help with? Is this a vacation resort?"

"Slow down! I didn't catch any of that!" Joe laughed at Bess's questions and then turned to look over his shoulder at Frank and Taylor, who were walking up. Joe turned to look at Nancy and watched the introductions. When Nancy heard that Frank and Taylor were married, her eyes widened. She had a feeling that something was going on. With Operation: Zero Tolerance, her father didn't have a moment to relax. People that had been arrested were calling at all hours, asking him for help. The chance to get away was a welcome one. Ned let out a low whistle and asked, "Is this more than just a vacation spot for you?" Frank's gaze changed slightly and he replied, "More than you'll ever know."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a shocker. When I first started working on this chapter, I had no idea that you can really buy an island. But you can, even though personally speaking, I don't think I'll ever have that much money in this life time.


	7. A Small Talk

Joe waited until Taylor had walked away with Nancy and the others before he grabbed Frank's arm. "I want to know what you think you're doing."

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you really think I'm going to buy this whole 'I don't know who reported you' act?"

"As much as I would love to take credit for it, Taylor and I had nothing to do with it at all. I guess there's some one out there that has a stronger dislike for you than I do."

"I don't buy it."

"I don't care what you think." Frank's gaze became dangerous, "But if I were you, I'd let go."

"Or what?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question? Let's face it, I'm going to keep my word, and honor the 'truce' that we have. If I had been the one to leak your…involvement with the Network, I would have left you high and dry and let them know that the Network was involved with what happened to Taylor's father." Joe tightened his grip and tried not to glare at Frank. He knew that Frank was telling the truth about that part. It was just impossible to get over the fact that someone that he had known all of his life would turn on him that way. Frank's gaze darkened even more. "I thought I told you to let go."

"No…you said that if you were me, you would. I'm glad to say that you're not me." At that, Frank swung and nailed Joe in the chest with his fist. Joe staggered back, releasing Frank's arm. Before he could do anything, Joe spotted their father walking over. Forcing himself to relax, Joe listened as Fenton told them that a helicopter was on its way. "They want to talk with Taylor about allowing them to search the island."

"She won't let them." Frank didn't look at Joe as he turned and walked away. Joe sighed and then tried to tell Fenton what he knew about the situation. Once again, Fenton wouldn't listen. Joe grumbled in anger, "Sooner or later, the truth's gotta come out."

Taylor smiled at the OZT (Operation: Zero Tolerance) staff that climbed off the helicopter. Next to her, Frank seemed relaxed and both appeared to be unarmed. What the OZT staff had no idea of was that both were carrying weapons just in case they felt that they were needed. The OZT person in charge smiled at Taylor and said, "Mrs. Hardy, we would like to search the island for two men that we think are members of the Network."

"And they are?"

"Your brother-in-law and your father-in-law."

"And do you have any proof that they are connected with the Network?"

"None that we can show you at this moment." The man was starting to squirm.

"Can you prove to me that my guests and I are in any danger at this moment?"

"No, I can't."

"And you do know that in this area of International waters, the United States has no extradition laws, correct?"

"I do know that."

"Then I will have to ask you to leave." Taylor turned and started to walk away. She then turned and looked at the man as he tried to catch up with her. Next to her Killer stopped and looked at the man as well. Taylor gave the 'stay' command and Killer listened to her. She then gave him her favorite command; 'tease'. Killer then began to growl. To anyone that had no idea about how friendly the dog was, the growl sounded threatening. "I'd advise you to leave, I don't think my guard dog likes you. Normally, he listens, but there are times that he won't." The OZT staff fled at that moment. Frank eyed Taylor as the helicopter took off. He then said to her, "Do you think he knows that Killer wouldn't harm a fly?"

"No, but I never had the chance to tell him."


	8. Danger and concern

Nancy walked around the large mansion. There was something about Taylor that made her feel…nervous. Uncertain as to why, Nancy attempted to get to know her, but couldn't get rid of the feeling. As she turned a corner, Nancy bumped into a staff member. The woman eyed Nancy in confusion and asked, "Are you lost?"

"No, I was just looking around."

"I see." The woman paused for a moment and then said calmly, "I hope you enjoy your stay, Miss." Nancy watched her as she walked away. There was something about the whole thing that made her feel as if the encounter had not been an accident. After lunch, Nancy pulled Joe to one side and told him about the encounter. Joe was clearly trying not to say something as he said that perhaps it had been an accident. George joined them and asked, "Is there any reason why I keep bumping into people?"

'FINALLY!' Joe thought to himself. Out loud, he asked, "What makes you say that?"

"I just bumped into another maid. She said that she was on her way to the third floor, but I can't help but feel like that wasn't what she was doing."

"I wish that I could tell you that something was up, but I can't." Joe spotted Taylor walking over and decided that he wouldn't be the one to point out the illegal activities that were going on. Taylor stopped as a guard joined her and whispered something to her. Taylor's expression became dangerous and she followed the guard outside. High above the mansion was a helicopter. A man was leaning out with a bullhorn. "I lay claim to this in the name of the Network. We will be landing in a moment." Taylor shielded her eyes and seemed to look at a spot on the helicopter. Another staff member came over with a bow and one arrow. Without looking at her guests, Taylor said aloud, "Some times the outcome out weighs the action." She then took aim at the helicopter and fired. A few moments later, there was an explosion. The helicopter veered away and soon crashed into the water. Taylor turned toward the guard and said, "Go and collect any survivors. After that, contact the OZT and let them know that we have Network agents that tried to attack my home."

"Yes, Mrs. Hardy." The guard went to do as he was told. Nancy fought against the urge to shudder. Taylor's expression was still one of coldness. Glancing at Joe, she saw that he was just as bothered as she was. George waited until Taylor was inside before she said, "Remind me not to make her angry."

Frank waited until Taylor was inside the room before saying, "That was an interesting tactic."

"I thought so. Our guests seem to be afraid now."

"Just as well. Sooner or later, Joe is going to try and tell them something. I want them to doubt what he's saying."

"How many more must we get rid of?"

"As many as it takes."


	9. Brother vs Brother 2

Joe tried to get the image of the helicopter exploding out of his mind. There was something cold about the way that Taylor had taken aim, almost as if she had wanted to commit cold-blooded murder right then and there…with witnesses watching her. Shaking his head, Joe left the room and went in search of his parents. He had to tell them what he knew. There was no way that he could wait until he had the evidence that he needed in hand.

Fenton stared at Joe as he told him what had been going on. When Joe was finished, Fenton sighed and said, "The stress of all of this can be a bit…"

"You think that I'm making this up?"

"You have to admit that it does seem a little strange that Taylor would go through all of this just for revenge against you."

"But what if it's not just me? What if she's trying to get rid of the Network also?"

"And why on Earth would Frank agree with her?"

"That I can't explain. But I know what she said."

"Until we can prove this, I think that we should leave the matter alone."

"Taylor could be up to something and you want to just let it go!"

"And if she's not? They might have just said those things to rattle your cage. It seems to be working." Joe turned away, disgusted that he didn't have anything that would back up what he was saying.

"Votre frère me commence à faire fâché." «Your brother is starting to make me angry. »

"Pas l'inquiétude, le papa ne le croit pas." «Don't worry, dad doesn't believe him. »

"Je ne soigne pas. Cela était l'une chose que j'espérais qu'il ne ferait pas jusqu' à beaucoup plus tard. Je n'aime pas le fait qu'il est allé à votre père avant qu'il ait ait été ait supposé à." «I don't care. That was the one thing that I was hoping that he wouldn't do until much later. I don't like the fact that he went to your father before he was supposed to. »

"Que ferons-nous de lui ?" «What shall we do about it?»

"Je dirais le virage lui dans, mais cela tout ruinerait" «I would say turn him in, but that would ruin everything.»

"Nous pourrions donner Joe a. l'a. ..time hors." «We could give Joe a...time out.»

"Que pensez-vous de ?" «What are you thinking about?»

"Il y a une série de cavernes quelques-uns mille pieds d'ici, la droite ?" «There are a set of caves a few thousand feet from here, right?»

"Cela a raison." «That's right.»

"Je pense qu'il apprécierait explorer ceux-là pour quelques jours." «I think that he would enjoy exploring those for a few days.»

"Et comment expliquerions-nous le fait qu'il manque ?" «And how would we explain the fact that he's missing?»

"Invitons Nancy et les autres sur un voyage de randonée. Monter un combat avec lui. Cela permettra à vous d'avoir besoin de quelques-uns l'un marcher avec vous soutient ici. Après ils partent avec vous, je m'assurerai qu'il part pour son petit voyage." «Let's invite Nancy and the others on a hiking trip. I'lll stage a fight with him. That will give you a chance to need some one to walk with you back here. After they leave with you, I'll make sure that he leaves for his little trip.»

"Cela est une très bonne idée." «That is a very good idea.»

Joe walked next to Bess as the small group hiked along the path. He was surprised that Taylor had extended the invitation for the hike to him as well and was determined not to drop his guard. Nancy seemed to sense that Joe was tense and now and then looked in his direction. Next to her, Ned complained in a teasing tone, "Is it just me or are you more interested in Joe than you are me?"

"It's not that. It's just that haven't you noticed that neither Frank or Joe have said that much to each other in the past two days?"

"Now that you mention it, I have noticed. I wonder what's going on between them."

"I don't know. I guess it's just the stress from what's going on all over the world."

"Yeah…I heard that they arrested twenty people yesterday…one of them was 17 years old."

"Joe's age. This is getting out of hand."

"Tell me about it."

Behind them, Frank waited until they were near the trail to the caves when he bumped into Joe. Joe turned and glared at Frank for a moment. Bess grabbed Joe by his arm and said, "It was an accident."

"Sure it was." Joe said slowly, eying his brother. Frank's gaze didn't change as he asked, "Are you saying that I did that on purpose?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"I always said that you're a hot head."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"It's simple, you have no idea what you're talking about, and you want to take it out on anyone that doesn't agree with you." Nancy, George, Ned and Taylor stopped walking and turned to watch what was going on. Taylor stepped forward and said softly, "Please don't fight."

"Stay out of this." Joe snarled at her.

"Watch how you talk to her, Joe. It's because of her you're not in a Federal prison somewhere." Frank snapped in return.

"I think you mean it's because of her innocent people are being locked up." Joe stepped forward and added, "Let's not forget that she would love to see me in the past tense."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Are you trying to pretend that she never told me that? You were standing right there next to her when she said it."

"You've lost it." Frank tried to brush past Joe, but Joe was far too angry to let it slide this time. He swung and just barely missed Frank as his brother ducked under the punch and tackled him. Nancy cried out in shock as the two fought. Taylor turned toward Ned and begged, "Please, go back to the house and get two of the staff, I'm afraid that they might hurt each other."

"But…"

"I don't want you to get hurt trying to stop them." Ned hurried back the way that they had come. After a few moments, Taylor tried to grab Joe's arm when he got to close to her. Joe attempted to jerk his arm out of her grasp, but ended up hitting her instead. Taylor fell to the ground soundlessly. Frank's gaze became deadly at that point. Nancy and George attempted to revive Taylor as the two brothers went at each other with renewed anger. Taylor came to and Nancy made up her mind. "We're taking you back to the house and we're sending Ned here to stop this."

"Are you sure? I…"

"He'll be fine. I'm more worried about you." Nancy, Bess and George found a safe way around the two fighters and led Taylor away. Frank waited until they were out of sight before knocking Joe out. He then motioned for the two Assassins that had been hiding close by to carry his brother away. He waited until they were gone before he followed the girls, laughing quietly.


	10. Down With The Sickness

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing in this chapter. Down with the Sickness came to my mind when I was writing this chapter. In fact it played over and over again. Could it be that a strange twisted part of my mind was thinking dark thoughts? Or could it be that my CD player was on repeat?

Joe awoke in darkness. He had no idea where he was, or how he had gotten there. What he did know that he wasn't going to stick around for very long. Standing slowly, he started toward what he hoped was the exit. After a few hours of walking, it felt as if he were slowly starting to lose his mind. There was no light whatsoever, and it felt as if someone had stuffed his ears with cotton.

_Drowning deep in my sea of loathing  
Broken your servant I kneel  
(will you give in to me)  
It seems what's left of my human side  
Is slowly changing in me  
(will you give in to me)_

Joe struggled to think of anything that would take his mind off his surroundings. It was at that moment he started to wonder what time it was. Feeling his wrist, Joe kicked himself for just now remembering that there was a light on his watch. But instead of a watch band, he found himself rubbing a bare wrist. 'Just perfect. Whoever left me in here took my watch so I wouldn't be able to…that's crazy…" He refused to think that someone would put him in this kind of danger for the express reason of driving him insane. He then started thinking about Taylor and her reasons for hating him. After a few moments, he decided that this line of thinking wasn't a great thing to do either.

_Looking at my own reflection  
When suddenly it changes  
Violently it changes (oh no)  
There is no turning back now  
You've woken up the demon in me_

Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
You mother  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
You   
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Madness is the gift, that has been given to me

Joe continued walking, uncertain of how long he had been going. Was it an hour? Was it more than that, or less? He was now starting to feel as if he could use a glass of water, or at least something to eat.

_I can see inside you, the sickness is rising  
Don't try to deny what you feel  
(will you give in to me)  
It seems that all that was good has died  
And is decaying in me  
(will you give in to me)  
_

And then there was the matter of Frank. Why would he just change the way that he had? What had happened that would make him side with the Assassins the way that he had? It had to be more than just Taylor. There had to be another reason. Joe tried not to stop walking as his legs started to give. He had to get out of this darkness before it ate away at his sanity completely.

_  
It seems you're having some trouble  
In dealing with these changes  
Living with these changes (oh no)  
The world is a scary place  
Now that you've woken up the demon in me_

_Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Open up your hate and let it flow into me  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
You mother  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
You  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Madness is the gift that has been given to me_

Joe stared at the light in shock. He had finally come to the opening. Forcing himself to walk even faster, Joe vowed that once he made it out, he was going to keep walking until he made it back to the mansion and then he would eat until he was beyond stuffed. When he reached the mansion, Nancy and Bess yelled in surprise. "Where have you been? It's been four days since that fight between you and Frank! You had all of us worried sick!"

"Four…days?" Joe was just barely able to force sound from his throat. When Nancy nodded, Joe mumbled just before he passed out, "I could have sworn it was a week."

_Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Open up your hate and let it flow into me  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
You mother  
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
You   
Get up, come on get down with the sickness  
Madness has now come over me_


	11. Doubts

Fenton held his wife as the doctor that Taylor had sent for examined Joe carefully. The man then looked at them and said, "Dehydration and hunger seems to be the only problems that I can find. I suggest getting him to drink a lot of fluids for the next two days and starting him on regular foods after that. He should be fine."

"Thank you." Fenton said as the man left. Mrs. Hardy sighed and said aloud, "What was he thinking?"

"I don't know. This isn't like Joe. I wish that he would calm down and stop thinking that the…Network is out to destroy this family."

"You think that the Network is up to something?"

"I knew Arthur for a long time. There's just too much evidence that he tried to use me and the boys for his own gain. Joe thinks that the man could be trusted, but it's clear that he couldn't." Fenton took a deep breath and then said, "I don't think that we should allow Joe to continue this madness. Any time that he brings it up, we should just change the subject."

"Are you sure about this?"

"If it caused this to happen, I'm afraid to see what else his obsession with the Network will cause."

Nancy watched Taylor as she stared at the ocean. Taylor turned and asked Nancy, "Why do you think Joe dislikes me so much?"

"I don't know."

"It's because of my father." Taylor gave Nancy the edited version of what had happened. Nancy's expression became more understanding. "And that's why he thinks I'm out to hurt him. I may have been angry at first, but I want to make peace. I don't want to come between Joe and his family. They're my family now."

"I can see that." Nancy smiled and added, "Don't worry. I'm sure that everything will work out." As she walked away, Taylor smirked and said, "In more ways than you'll ever understand."


	12. A Sinister Meeting

In Taylor's private study, there was a meeting going on that none of the guests had been invited to. If Joe had known about it, he would have been thrilled…and at the same time, very afraid.

Taylor looked at the group of men that were seated around the table. Each of the men that she needed to talk to had a translator that knew the languages of the others. She started with the first one at the table, "Jeg vet hva Deres framgang er."/I want to know what your progress is.

"Vi gjør den best at vi kan."/ We're doing the best that we can.

"Og akkurat hvordan er De gjøre det? Jeg ikke ser noe forandring i hvordan ting drar. De fortalte ha den område sikrer nå."/"And just how are you doing that? I don't see any change in how things are going. You were told to have that area secure by now."

"Jeg lover. .."/I promise...

"De hatt bedre gjør mere enn lover. Om De venter forbli levende, jeg foreslår at De gjør hva De fortalte gjøre."/You had better do more than promise. If you expect to remain alive, I suggest that you do what you were told to do.

Her gaze landed on the next man, who was snickering at what had happened to the Assassin on his right. "И какой право Вы должны смеяться? Я знаю для факта, что Вы подвели меня дважды(вдвое). "/And what right do you have to laugh? I know for a fact that you have failed me twice.

He jumped and stared at her for a moment before he said, "Я сожалею, моя Леди. "/I am sorry, my Lady.

"Вам более чем жаль. "/You are more than sorry. Taylor shot and killed the man "Вы - история. "/You are history.

As the body was removed, she turned to the next one on her list, "Quero saber o que você conseguiu para fazer." /I want to know what you have managed to do.

"Temos dez novos compradores, minha Senhora." /"We have ten new buyers, my Lady."

"Pensei que eu contei-o que quis vinte." /I thought I told you that I wanted twenty.

"O outros têm medo. Pensam que vai ir. ..fail." /The others are afraid. They think that you will...fail.

"Fizeram o acordo com meu tio certificar compras, corrige?" /They made the agreement with my uncle to make certain purchases, correct?

"Sim, minha Senhora." /"Yes, my Lady."

"Lembra-os de isto antes de você livra-se de eles." /"Remind them of this before you get rid of them."

"Sim, minha Senhora."/ Yes, my Lady.

Taylor turned toward a grim faced Assassin, "Hoe zijn dingen die voor u gaan?" /How are things going for you?

"Heel goed mijn Dame". /Very well, my Lady.

"Ik hoop zo. Zijn de slaven klaar verkocht te worden?" /I hope so. Are the slaves ready to be sold?

"Ja mijn Dame". /Yes, my Lady.

"Goed. Verzuim mij en u zult de laatste dwaas deelnemen". /Good. Fail me and you will join the last fool.

"Ik zal u niet verzuimen"./I will not fail you.

Taylor's cold expression brightened only for a second for the next person, "Ich freue mich, Sie zu sehen". /I am happy to see you.

"Ich habe Nachrichten, die Sie genießen können. Unsere Agenten sind an der richtigen Stelle zu übernehmen". /I have news that you may enjoy. Our agents are in place to take over.

"Gut. Ich will sie zu machen, so bis Dinge in Amerika stattfinden". /Good. I want them to do so by the time things take place in America.

"Ja meine Dame"./Yes, my Lady.

Taylor was about to move on when she saw that one man was ready to burst. "Je vois que vous avez quelque chose que vous souhaitez ajouter." /"I see that you have something that you wish to add."

"Je veux qui savoir vous pensez que vous nous serez obligé à commander autour de quand vous ne pouvez pas vous occuper de votre propre problème. La personne qui a tué votre père vos vies calmes." /I want to know who you think that you are to order us around when you can not take care of your own problem. The person that killed your father still lives.

"Sont vous disant que vous refusez de suivre mes ordres ?" /Are you saying that you refuse to follow my orders?

"Cela est exactement que je dis. En fait, pourquoi devrait nous saluons les caprices d'une petite fille sotte comme vous. Vous et votre "mari" n'est rien plus que les enfants nous ont comparé. Qu'a-t-il ou de vous fait que vous donne la droite pour nous commander environ ?" /That is exactly what I'm saying. In fact, why should we bow to the whims of a foolish little girl like you. You and your 'husband' are nothing more than children compared to the rest of us. What have either of you done that gives you the right to order us around?

"Je veux que vous savez. ..I veut qu'ait su que j'estime que vous devez dire. Je veux que vous ayez fié vos traducteurs. Ils ne vous coucheront pas. Je suis reconnaissant à vous tous. Chacun de vous étiez loyal à mon oncle, et a toléré beaucoup depuis sa mort. J'estime chacun de vous et je sais gré pour vous tous..." She walked past the man as she spoke. After a moment, she stood behind him and looked at him. The man's translator, sensing that danger was close at hand, moved out of the way. Taylor turned toward the wall, grabbed a double handle sword that was hanging there and whipped around. She then slashed the man's head off in only a matter of seconds…"But il y a une chose que je vais vous dire que je veux que vous ayez compris. ..the PERSONNE PROCHAINE JAMAIS pour ME DOUTER qu'ENCORE TROUVERA SA TETE MONTEE SUR MON MUR JUSTE COMME LE SIEN SERA ! Je VOUS VEUX DES IDIOTS PATHETIQUES POUR PRENDRE UN LE REGARDE LONGTEMPS ! SI VOUS JAMAIS ME QUESTIONNEZ ENCORE, je n'HESITERAI pas POUR VOUS METTRE DE MA MISERE ! EST-CELA CLAIR ? C'EST ? BON ! VOUS TOUS SORT DE MA VUE !"/I want you know...I want all of you to know that I value what you have to say. I want you to trust your translators. They won't lie to you. I am thankful to all of you. Each of you were loyal to my uncle, and have put up with a lot since his death. I value each of you and I am grateful for all of you…But there is one thing that I am going to tell you that I want you to understand...the NEXT PERSON TO EVER DOUBT ME AGAIN WILL FIND HIS HEAD MOUNTED ON MY WALL JUST LIKE HIS WILL BE! I WANT YOU PATHETIC FOOLS TO TAKE A LONG LOOK AT HIM! IF YOU EVER QUESTION ME AGAIN, I WILL NOT HESITATE TO PUT YOU OUT OF MY MISERY! IS THAT CLEAR? IT IS? GOOD! ALL OF YOU GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!

The group of Assassins fled from Taylor. Taylor looked down at the body and then turned to her staff. "Clean this up." She told them coldly as she walked out of the room.


	13. The Truth Figured Out

Vachel-Thiery said nothing as the Assassin assigned to keeping an eye on Joe made his report. After several minutes, Vachel-Thiery stood and then asked coldly, "Does he suspect anything?"

"Nothing, Mentor. I have not done anything to cause him to doubt me."

"But he is careful about who he talks to. Do you know the reason why I am having this conversation with you in English?"

"I am afraid that I do not, Mentor."

"That's because you have failed me."

"How have I failed you, Mentor?"

"You have failed me in more ways than I care to count at the moment. It pains me to say this, but I no longer need you."

"Mentor, please allow me a chance to regain your favor!"

"And just what do you plan to do that will save your life?"

"I can be of some use to you in LA."

"Doing what?"

"Anything that you wish."

"I can think of one task for you. And you will not be going to LA. What we are doing there is far too important to allow someone like you to show up and ruin everything."

"In any way I can please you, I am willing to do it."

"Very good. I want you on your way to Bayport and to the prison before I change my mind and put you out of my misery."

In the Bayport Women's Prison, Callie Shaw listened as the guards started talking about how the attacks were getting worse by the day. "I tell you, at the rate things are going out there, I'd rather be in here with them." The guard motioned toward the prisoners.

"Tell me about it. Last night my wife asked if there was a 'Take Your Spouse to Work Day'. I would move, but where would I go?"

"I hear ya." The two guards continued walking. Callie felt a shiver riun down her spine. This had to have something to do with Taylor. There was no doubt about it. Callie started pacing as she tried to think of a way to get a letter to Joe. In her mind, Callie knew that there was no way that she could tell Frank anything about what she suspected. If she were to take a guess, Taylor was using Frank to get at Joe. But why? Still pacing, Callie started thinking carefully. In her mind she went over every little detail that she could think of. Taylor had arrived from England...Didn't Frank and Joe go there for a short amount of time? But why had they? Callie then remembered that they had gone there following a lead about the person that had put the bomb in their car at the mall. She started thinking about the mall and how it had almost been destroyed by a bomb, much bigger than the one that had blown up the car that Iola had been standing next to. Lucky for the people that would later be in the mall, the bomb had been stopped and...wait a second. Didn't the man that had set that bomb get in a fight with Joe on the second level? And hadn't that same person fallen to his death only moments later? Callie remembered hearing rumors that Taylor's father had been killed shortly before she came to America. Callie fell on her bunk, a look of horror on her face. Taylor had not been sent there as a student. She was there to kill Frank and Joe for what had happened to the terrorist that had been attempting to kill Philip Walker. Callie stood quickly and was about to yell for the guards but stopped herself at the last second. There was no way that they would listen to her claims. After all, Taylor was a very wealthy young woman, and was also married to Frank Hardy, the same person that not only helped save the life of Philip Walker, but was also Callie's ex-boyfriend. Also it went without saying the reasons why Callie was in prison at the moment. Angry, she returned to the bunk. She then began to wish that she had a way to contact Joe. Callie glared at the wall and wished that she had a way to warn him that he was in danger.


	14. Attempted Blackmail

Iola Morton listened as Joe told her what he knew about Taylor. She laughed gently and said, "That would make a great spy novel."

"It's not a joke, Iola. There's something dangerous about her."

"And you think that she's some kind of Assassin?"

"I know that she is."

"And she wants to kill you?"

"That's right."

"If that were true, why hasn't she done it already? She's had more chances to do so than anything else."

"It's not just me that she wants to get rid of. She also wants to destroy the Network."

"And why is that?"

"Iola..."

"I'm just saying that all of this sounds like it came from a movie script."

"It didn't. I can understand why you think it's not real, but it is."

"I think that you should just relax. With everything that's going on right now, I can understand why you're upset."

"I just want you to be careful around her. She's an Assassin and there's no way to tell what she's going to do next."

"You're right." Iola walked away and said over her shoulder, "She just might become the wealthiest woman on earth that took over the world." Iola continued to walk away while Joe stayed where he was, hoping that Iola's guess wasn't a prediction of things to come.

Nancy sighed as she swam in the large pool. Her mind was miles away as she thought about the events that were happening all over the world. The Network had pulled off three more attacks and there was nothing that anyone was able to do about it. She was starting to wonder if Operation Zero Tolerance was doing anything other than spreading panic. As she started another lap, Nancy was startled when a staff member informed her that there was someone that wanted to see her. Climbing out of the pool, Nancy accepted the towel that was being handed to her. "Who is it?"

"I am not at liberty to say, Miss. He asked for you."

"My father is supposed to join us. Is it him?"

"I'm sorry, Miss. I was informed to bring you with me to Mrs. Hardy's office. That is all that I know." Nancy followed the young woman to the office. Once there, the staff member opened the door and led Nancy inside. At the desk was a gradfatherly gentleman. With a nod, he dismissed the staff member. Nancy tried to figure out who the man was and why would he want to talk to her. The man smiled and said, "I'm certain that you would like answers. Am I correct, Miss Drew?"

"How do you know me?"

"We have never met, but your father is well known to me. Please, it is the custom of where I'm from to offer a small drink." Nancy saw that there were two glasses of juice already poured. Accepting one, Nancy sipped on it as she tried to think of what to ask the man next. As she finished the glass, Nancy felt as she were dizzy. As the dizziness grew worse, she found herself asking, "Who are you?"

"My name is not important. You will simply call me Mentor." That was the last thing she heard as it felt as if she were flying.

At lunch, Joe watched as Nancy and Taylor entered last, the two were laughing about something said in the hall. Joe felt a little sick as he wondered what had happened that would make the two instant friends. Joe was about to say something about this when he saw his father give him a strange look and then slightly shake his head. Dropping the matter for the moment, Joe tried to focus on the meal. Taylor informed them that she had spoken with her lawyers in America. "From what they said, Operation Zero Tolerance is ready to do what ever they can to..." At that moment a helicopter landed outside. Taylor stood and walked to a window, her expression one of concern. Three OZT operatives got off the helicopter and were heading toward them. Taylor motioned for her guests to stay where they were as she and Frank went out to meet the men. Stopping them from entering, Taylor asked coldly, "Is there a good reason for this?"

"There is, Mrs. Hardy. We have a search warrent and a warrent for the arrest of Joe Hardy."

"You do remember that as long as this property is off limits due to the fact that there is no clear connection to any government, I don't have to let you anywhere further than your transportation?"

"That is true, but I'm asking you, for your own safety, to hand over your brother-in-law if he's here."

"And if he were here, and I'm not saying that he is or is not, what makes you think that I, my husband and our guests are in any danger?"

"We think that you could be in danger due to the fact that several of the Network agents that we have detained lately swear that the person that killed your uncle, Mr. Arthur Gray, was the person that was in charge of the American based Network cell. They also claim that your brother-in-law was his right hand man. There are rumors amoung the the Network terrorists that your brother-in-law may now be the person that's in charge of the American based Network cell."

"Do you have any proof of this?"

"None at the moment."

"Then I suggest that you leave."

"Please, Mrs. Hardy. Don't make this into a battle that you may not win."

"I am an English citizen by birth and an American citizen by marriage. Do not think to question my loyalties, dear sir. I am loyal to the Queen of England and to the US government. I feel disgust at the idea of what is going on as far as these terrorists, but I draw the line at making such claims against my family without proof. I now ask you to leave." The OZT agents left without another word. Taylor and Frank shared a look and went back to the dining room. Joe watched them, unable to figure out what was going on.

After everyone had gone to bed for the night, Joe snuck into Taylor's office and turned on her computer. After several attempts, he was able to crack her password and went through the files, looking for anything that would prove that he was telling the truth. The files were kept locked and each needed a password to open. Joe growled in disgust and was about to give up when he noticed a small breeze that seemed to come from one of the walls. Joe turned the computer off and went to take a look. He then found a hidden passage behind one of the plants that was in the office. Following the hidden passage, Joe found another office at the end and went in. There was a large table for meetings and a curtain that covered one entire side. Walking over to the curtain, Joe was about to move it to one side when he thought that he had heard a sound from the other end of the hidden passage. He stood still, trying to figure out if he had been hearing things. Hearing voices, Joe ducked behind the curtain and watched. Taylor, Frank and a man that Joe had never seen before walked in. Behind the man were two staff members. The man walked over to the desk that was in the room and began moving the items on it around. "I'm glad you decided to talk with me."

"You say that as if you were giving us a choice." Frank spoke up at that, his gaze deadly.

"You're right. But then again, you could have said no, and I would be on my way to the biggest newspaper in LA."

"Let's get to the point." Taylor's voice lost the English accent and sounded cold, deadly, filled with venom.

"What I want is this: $450,000,000 and I'll forget what I saw at that company of yours there."

"And what is it that you think that you saw?" Frank moved to one side, still watching the man.

"I think that I saw a group of your employees getting ready to go and commit an act of terrorism. You know, that thing that happened on those buses and such forth."

"From what I heard, that only happened on one bus."

"True, but then again, there is the matter of what happened in Bayport. And then there is the matter of those kidnappings. Such a sick and twisted thing." The man grinned and added, "And let's not forget there is the matter of that girl that went to prison. From what I heard, the Feds want to talk with her. They're starting to connect what she did to everything else. I think that they're going to make her an offer if she hands the two of you over. I mean, don't you think the idea of it being a family business sounds more interesting than it being the work of one ex-girlfriend out for a little pay-back?"

"It would appear that you have everything figured out." Frank sighed and then pulled out a gun from nowhere. "But I think you forgot a few details." The man jumped and turned to look at Taylor for help. Taylor turned and walked away. "You see, we found every small scrap of evidence that you thought that you had and destroyed it already." Frank told the man calmly.

"I was just joking around about turning you in." The man held his hands up. Frank and Taylor said nothing as the man moved away from the desk. "I wouldn't have done it, I swear!"

"Stop moving." Frank told the man. The man stopped. "Take one step to the left." He did so. "Now move forward by five steps." When the man did this, Frank smiled and said, "Thank you. You just saved me a lot of trouble." He then pulled the trigger. "Blood is impossible to get out of certain carpets." He then turned and looked at the two staff members. "Get rid of him and the rug. Make sure that you clean up in here." He then went to the desk and picked up everything that the man had touched and threw the items down on the body as he walked past. "Next time, don't try to blackmail someone. You're not very good at it." Taylor looked around the room and then turned her attention to the curtain. Joe was certain that she could hear his heart pounding as she started walking in his direction. She then stopped and left, followed by Frank and a few moments later, by the two staff members as they carried out the rug that they had rolled up with the body in the middle of it. Joe waited for several minutes before he went back down the passage and into Taylor's office. He then ran all the way to his room. What he didn't see was Frank watching him the entire time.


	15. A Quick Backtrack

**Sorry it's been a while, but with the classes that I was taking and Writer's Block, I haven't had that much time to do anything. I went back over the story to get the feel of what I was doing and I noticed that I never went into detail about what the would be blackmailer was talking about. This chapter is kind of a recap on what I left out earlier in the story.**

Taylor sat in her hidden office and looked at the three men that were seated before her. Frank stood off to one side and kept an eye on them. "I want each of you to start talking, one at a time mind you, and explain to me why I should let you live."

"My Lady, I am uncertain how this person..." One started to say to her.

"I want an explanation of how this man knew that the cold bomb was connected to me."

"As you already know, my Lady, the Cold Bomb was nothing more than a container filled with a weakened strain of the common cold." Another stated quickly.

"I know that."

"It was designed so that it would be spread quickly by touch and..."

"In other words, a slightly advanced version of the real thing." Taylor motioned for the man to continue.

"Yes, my Lady. Well...we infected three of our people as planned and they got on the bus with the Cold Bomb and waited until the bus was in motion before declaring themselves loyal followers of the Network and set the Cold Bomb off."

"They better have." Taylor growled in anger toward him.

"As expected, the people on the bus infected others and the people they infected made others sick and..."

"Get to the point." Frank snarled at the man.

"A total of thousands were sick in the span of three hours." The third man spoke up.

"And how did the fool that came here find out?" Taylor demanded.

"We suspect that he saw the ones that got on the bus just before they were infected." The third man stated, looking frightened.

"I want you to deal with them. Let them know that they have one more chance. And by the way, gentlemen, what does it mean when such conversations are held in English?" Taylor looked at each of the three men. They looked at each other for a moment and then turned to look at Taylor in terror. "Under normal circumstances, you would all be dead. Just take this as a friendly reminder." Taylor aimed a gun at them and added, "Failure is something that is frowned upon. Don't think that just because you get to live this time that it will happen again.


	16. Conversations, Breakouts and Fights

The next morning, every one went about their now normal routine. Everyone but Joe. He was certain that Taylor was going to try something that day and hoped that he could catch her in the act. What he didn't count on was that his parents would be busy trying to get him on 'speaking terms' with Frank. It wasn't until dinner that he was able to watch Taylor at all, and even then there was very little to go on. After dinner when he was about to go to his room, Joe heard Taylor and Frank in the hall, talking in French. He hid and listened to what they were saying...

Taylor: "Êtes-vous certain que ce soit une bonne idée?"/Are you certain that this is a good idea?  
Frank: "Pourquoi pas ? Il n'y a pas quelque chose qui peut être fait au sujet d'it."/Why not? There isn't anything that can be done about it.  
Taylor: "Et s'ils devaient découvrir?"And if they were to find out/?  
Frank: "Je ne fais pas care."/I don't care.

Joe backed up and bumped into a maid that was trying to walk past him. With a calm cold look, the maid apologized and kept going. Joe looked around and found an alternate path and hurried upstairs. Once there, he was hoping that he was wrong.

Ned walked with Nancy to the study. He was interested in what was so important that she wanted no one else around when he heard about it. Her cryptic statement of 'wait until we're in the study' seemed strange. Once they reached the study, Ned was surprised to find someone waiting for them. "Who are you?" Ned asked this stranger as Nancy closed the door.

"All in good time. But please, allow me to offer you something to drink." The man motioned toward the glasses on the desk.

Joe was now certain that something was wrong. Nancy, Ned, Taylor and Frank were joking around as if there wasn't a care in the world. Staring at them for a moment, he couldn't get over the way that things just seemed to be too perfect. Taylor, after being summoned by a staff member, left the group and Joe was about to join them when he saw the calculating looks that Nancy, Ned and Frank were giving him. Backing up slowly, Joe was about to leave when he had the feeling that he was being watched. Turning slowly, he looked and saw that the maid that had bumped into him before was staring at him. For a moment, Joe had the feeling that he was looking at Taylor's maid, Annette. But that was impossible...Annette had been killed by the Gray Man. Joe backed away from her and found another hall to escape down. Annette turned to the others and smiled, signaling that everything was going according to plan.

As she finished her laundry for the week, Callie felt a pair of eyes on her. Turning quickly, she found a young woman staring at her. The young woman walked over and without being told, started folding everything that Callie had just taken out of the dryer. "You don't have to do that." Callie told her as the young woman finished up folding the clothes.

"Yes I do." The young woman turned and looked at Callie for a moment before she said, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Callie felt something jab into her arm and a second later passed out. The young woman looked at the Assassin posing as a guard as a second Assassin came up and threw Callie over his shoulder. The first Assassin told the young woman, "We'll have you out of here in no time." He then smirked and walked away with the second Assassin, taking Callie with them.

It was on the news in an instant. Callie Shaw had broke out of prison, killing five guards and wounding ten guards and three prisoners. There was a reward of ninety million dollars to the person that could help OZT capture her alive. Nothing if she were found dead. People began searching high and low for Callie, hoping to be the one to find her.

Hearing the news, the Hardy and Morton families reacted in shock. Joe was disgusted with the whole thing, now more than ever certain that Callie had been framed. Taylor stared at him as if he were insane. "She just broke out of prison. You don't do that if you're innocent."

"Callie didn't go willingly." Joe informed her.

"And what makes you so bloody sure about that? Are you a mind reader? Did you gain that little bit of information from your crystal ball?"

"You wouldn't know that much about someone being innocent. You're better at conning people than anything else."

"Now what? Do you think that this is all part of my master plan to get rid of you? Do you think that I used my telepathic powers and made it all happen? You're starting to sound insane. Maybe that could be your defense if they ever arrest you. 'I didn't do anything wrong. It's the voices in my mind. They're the guilty ones'. They'd let you out in a minute." Taylor then sneered and added, "Or maybe from they way you're defending both of them, you really are working with the Network. You've done a lot of talking on their side."

"Unlike you, I haven't done anything illegal."

"Name one thing that I've done that's illegal. Just one bloody thing." Taylor hissed at him, hurt in her voice. "I'm not the one condoning the actions of a group of people that are trying to make the world into what they see fit. I'm not the one that had them kill innocent people to cover up something." She looked away and added, "I'm not the one that killed a person rather than see him in jail."

"You are the one that showed up right before all of this started."

"And what makes you think that I have anything to do with any of it?"

"You want revenge."

"You're mad. You've gone off the deep end." Taylor left the room in anger. Joe turned away and before he knew it, Frank was in front of him, glaring. The two stood still staring at each other for several seconds. Joe was certain that he would be able to tell when Frank was about to start a fight. He was caught off guard when Frank grabbed him and tossed him through one of the closed windows. A second later, he followed him through the same window and the two were fighting outside. With cuts from the window that he had just gone through, Joe was at a disadvantage in the fight. Fenton and Ned came out and broke the fight up between the two. Glaring at his brother for a moment, Joe went inside to get patched up. Afterward, he went to find something to do that would take his mind off of just how badly things were going.


	17. What Else Could Happen?

Callie awoke in a van, uncertain of where she was going and what would happen once she got there. "I see you are awake. Good." A man dressed in combat fatigues smirked at her and added, "You've been a very busy young woman. It's horrible the way that you've added to your body count."

"I didn't harm anyone. And you can tell your boss the same thing."

"And just who is my 'boss'?"

"Taylor."

"You mean the same young woman that married your ex-boyfriend? What makes you think that the police will believe that?"

"They will. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"And how did you come to this conclusion?"

"I figured it out once I connected the dots between her father and that man that tried to kill Phillip Walker."

"Interesting." The man chuckled and added, "But you see, my employer isn't the young Mrs. Hardy."

"And who is?"

"Mentor."

"Who is that?"

"None of your concern." The man turned away from her and started chuckling again. Callie glared at him, wishing that she had a way of freeing herself. As they rode along, five minutes later, the man's cell phone rang. "Hallo...Ja, Mentor, haben wir das Mädchen. Sie denkt, wir arbeiten für Ihre Nichte... ich verstehe daß... wir am Flugplatz in anderen Zwanzig Minuten sein sollten... verstanden..., das wir warten, bis er ankommt und beginnen den Plan..., Ihnen, Mentor zu danken."/Hello...Yes, Mentor, we have the girl. She thinks we work for your niece...I understand...We should be at the airfield in another twenty minutes...Understood...We will wait until he arrives and start the plan...Thank you, Mentor.

"unsere Aufträge?"/"Our orders?"/ The driver asked without turning around.

"das Mädchen nach Los Angeles nehmen. Sobald der andere Pfandgegenstand ankommt, beginnen Sie den Plan."/"To take the girl to Los Angeles. Once the other pawn arrives, start the plan."

"ist der Mentor, der sicher ist, daß der Bruder es ziehen kann off?"/"Is Mentor certain that the brother can pull it off?"/

"Are Sie doubts?"/"Are you having doubts?"/

"No habend..., das es gerecht ist, daß I..."/"No...it's just that I..."/

"You nicht versuchen sollte zu denken. Das ist ein Zeichen, daß Sie Energie gewinnen möchten, bevor Ihr time."/"You should not try to think. That is a sign that you wish to gain power before your time."/

"I nicht Mentor wie sicheres that."/"I will not betray Mentor like that."/

"Make verrät, daß Sie nicht. Mentor würde keine Qualms haben, Ihren Tod zu bestellen."/"Make certain that you don't. Mentor would have no qualms ordering your death."/ Callie shuddered, partly wishing that she could understand what was being said, and thankful that she couldn't.

Joe paced in his room. The image of Annette standing there...staring at him was something that he couldn't get out of his mind. And then there was the way that Nancy and Ned were staring at him with Frank. Shuddering, Joe decided to warn Bess and George about what was going on. He hoped that they would listen to him.

George sighed as Joe hurried over to the tennis court where she and Bess had been playing. After witnessing the events of the past few days, she was starting to worry about Joe's sanity. In a calm voice, Joe asked them if they had noticed anything strange lately. Twirling her racket, George struggled not to comment that the only thing that she saw that could count as strange was the way he had been acting. Instead, she told him that she had not seen a thing. "Why?" She asked him, watching him carefully.

"No reason. I was just wondering, that's all." Joe looked at the time and walked away.

"What was that all about?" Bess asked her cousin.

"I don't know." George frowned and added, "And I'm starting to think that I don't want to know."

Inside, Joe walked past two employees that were carrying a large trunk. He took several steps before the strangeness of it hit him. Just as he was about to turn and look at where they were going, a man stepped out of a room and knocked him out. The two 'employees' put the trunk on the floor and opened it. They then stuffed Joe inside and closed the lid, picked up the trunck and fled with it.

Fenton Hardy looked at the 'letter' that a maid said that she had found on Joe's bed. In the letter, it said that he (Joe) was sick and tired of Taylor and would be using a plane to head back to America. The others seemed shocked by this. What would possess Joe to do something so thoughtless and dangerous. There was no way to keep OZT from arresting him now. Frank, holding a crying Taylor growled that it was for the best. "If he doesn't care about how he's hurt everyone, I really don't care at this point." George and Bess glanced at each other. They were starting to wonder what was going on, and hoped that they could figure it out.

Joe awoke, feeling as if some one had put a three ring circus in his head. Opening his eyes slowly, he spotted Callie in a chair next to the bed. With a sad smile she said, "Welcome to Los Angeles."


	18. The Start of A Plan

Joe gaped at Callie. "What did you just say?"

"I said 'Welcome to Los Angeles'. You know, the City of Angels'? I think they did the second Crow movie about LA."

"What's going on?"

"Let's see...Some guy broke me out of prison and killed some of the guards, with me taking the blame. I was brought here and I think that you and I are about to commit the crime of the century."

"Are they crazy?"

"You tell me. All I know is that some woman that could be my twin sister left here and she was carrying a lot of guns."

"Perfect...just great." Joe stood and then asked, "Did you see anyone else?"

"No one. What's going on?"

"I don't have an idea."

Late that afternoon Joe Hardy and Callie Shaw (Assassins that looked like them) went into a busy LA mall and opened fire. They only wounded people and spray-painted on a wall, 'ACCEPT THE NETWORK OR DIE.' They then went into the parking lot where 22-year-old Alessa Perkins was about to start her car when 'Joe' opened her door and forced her to get out. He and 'Callie' got in, ignoring her pleas to allow her to get her four children out of the car and fled the scene. The children were found at a fast food place a few miles away, unharmed. They then went to another mall and repeated the process. This time the car that they stole was owned by 34-year-old Paul Westing and his 8 month along pregnant wife. Forcing Mrs. Westing into the car, they drove off and dropped her off at a hospital. They left her there, after making her empty her checking and savings accounts, along with the joint account that she shared with her husband. The next place that they went to was a high school where they kidnapped four students. One had the first name Taylor, the second had the last name Westbrooke (no relation to Taylor), the third had the first name Frank and the last one had the last name Hardy (no relation to Frank and Joe) The four teens were left tied up in an abandoned warehouse after they were forced to call the police and state that the only reason why they were unharmed was because Los Angeles was a Network haven and that they (the four kidnapped students) were future Network agents. They were forced to tell police that there were bombs in the sewer sytems under several popular areas and that the entire police force was to go and look for them. What no one knew was that there was another reason for this. While police were frantically combing the sewers after convincing people to close businesses and go home (or check into a hotel), several Assassins were busy stealing from electronics stores and other businesses, completely wiping out the stock of each store that they hit.

Joe glared at the only thing that was standing between Callie, himself and freedom. Callie asked him, "What do you think they're doing?"

"I don't know." Joe was about to walk away from the door when it opened and a large man stood there. He pointed a gun at Callie, ignoring Joe completely. Joe launched himself at the man and tackled him. He knocked him out and dragged him over to the closet. Shoving him in, Joe closed the door and grabbed the gun that the man had dropped. He and Callie then escaped from the building. Outside, there was a car with the keys still in it. Not really caring, Joe waited until Callie was in before starting the car and driving away. Hoping to hear some music, Callie turned the radio on. Later down the road, they were followed by a police car. Just as Joe was about to pull over, he and Callie heard on the radio about the crimes that they had 'committed'. Startled, Joe sped up and after finally losing the police car, he glanced at Callie and asked, "Is it just me, or did things get a lot worse?"


	19. Just When Things Already Look Bad

"Alles ist gegangen, als Sie gesagt haben, dass es würde."/Everything went as you said that it would./

"Gut. Jetzt, dass er jenen Punkt erreicht hat, wo er niemand hat, zu zu drehen, dürfen wir jetzt unsere Aufmerksamkeit zu anderen Dingen drehen."/Good. Now that he has reached that point where he has no one to turn to, we may now turn our attention to other things./

"Wie darf ich von Gebrauch zu Ihnen jetzt sein, Mentor?"/How may I be of use to you now, Mentor?/

"Sie haben gut gemacht. Ich zusichere Ihnen der im Augenblick, haben Sie einen Rest verdient."/You have done well. I assure you that at the moment, you have earned a rest./

"Ich vielen Dank."/I thank you./

"Seien Sie bereit, einmal ich zu handeln, fordere Sie auf."/Be ready to act once I summon you/

"Ich erwarte den Moment ich kann sein behilflich zu Ihnen, Mentor."/I await the moment I can be of service to you, Mentor./

Vachel-Thiery turned toward Frank after hanging up the phone and said, "Je suis fier de vous, mon Ange de Mort"/I am proud of you, my Angel of Death/

"Je vous remercie, le Mentor." /I thank you, Mentor./

"Vos parents sont-ils convaincus que votre frère est derrière les assauts?" /Are your parents convinced that your brother is behind the attacks?/

"Non, le Mentor. Si j'appuie le problème, ils soupçonneront." /No, Mentor. If I press the issue, they will suspect./

"Compris. Ne ne rien faire pour le temps est. J'aurais aimé avoir tourné l'autre deux contre lui, mais il n'y avait pas assez de temps." /Understood. Do nothing for the time being. I would have liked to have turned the other two against him, but there wasn't enough time./

"Je comprends, le Mentor."/I understand, Mentor./

"Il y quelqu'un a que vous pouvez penser à que pourrait les aider?" /Is there anyone that you can think of that might assist them?/

"Tony Prito et Biff Hooper pourraient et alors il y a le chef de police, Ezra Collig et l'officier Con Riley." /Tony Prito and Biff Hooper might and then there is the police chief, Ezra Collig and officer Con Riley./

"Avec le reste du monde les cherche, j'espère que ces gens ne fassent pas. Je ne les nuirais pas, vous avoir des objections, mais j'aurais à parler avec eux." /With the rest of the world looking for them, I hope that those people do not. I would not harm them, mind you, but I would have to talk with them./

Je comprends, le Mentor." /I understand, Mentor./

"Bon."/Good./

Joe felt insane, but there was very little that could be done. Wearing a disguise, he snuck into the Bayport Mall and went straight to Mr. Pizza. Inside, he saw Tony talking with a police officer. Once the officer left, Joe went to the counter and motioned Tony over as if he were about to order. Tony walked over and did a double take. He then hissed, "Are you crazy or something?"

"I need your help."

"You should turn yourself in."

"I know it looks bad..."

"That's an understatement."

"But I didn't do anything. Remember Sam Butler?"

"Yeah...At least the guy that claimed that he was Sam Butler."

Remember how it turned out he was someone else?"

"Yeah."

"Well that someone else was Taylor's father. And don't forget he confessed that he had surgery done to look like Butler."

"That's right..." Tony remained silent for a moment and then carefully placed a set of keys on the counter. "You can crash there if you need to. It's out in the middle of nowhere, so there won't be any neighbors to bug you." Tony scribbled directions on a napkin and added, "Be careful."

"Thanks."

"Quick question...Why bring Taylor up?"

"Let's just say she wasn't too thrilled when she found out what happened to her father."

"So she's trying to kill you?"

"Tony, I can't go into details, but I can tell you this much, everything that's being done so far is part of one huge picture puzzle. The problem is, I can't put it together 100 because I don't know what the picture is supposed to look like." Joe then took the keys and left. Neither of them noticed the customer that was seated in a corner, sipping on an empty cup.

Frank was busy comforting his parents when a butler came to tell him that he had a phone call. Leaving, Frank went into the study and listened to the voice on the other end. Eyes narrowing in anger, he thanked the person and hung up. He then picked up the phone and dialed several numbers. The call was instantly scrambled and a voice modifier activated.

"Operation Zero Tolerance Hotline, how may I help you?" Operator 094 asked, bored as she started to do her nails.

"I have information about Joseph Hardy."

"What kind of information?" Operator 094 sat up very quickly.

"First off, just so that you know that I'm not some crank caller, his full name is Joseph Alexander Hardy. Birthdate is March 10, 1990. Social Security Number 035-56-9852. Driver's License Number 56587103. His height is exactly six feet and he weighs 185 pounds. Blond hair and blue eyes. Is there anything else you would like to know?"

"That's...quite alright." Operator 094 _knew_ that there was no way that this was a crank call. Who ever this person was had too much information.

"I'm calling for a friend. I'm afraid that he was tricked into helping Joe."

"In what way?"

"This friend gave him a place to hide. I'm only reporting this because I was hoping that you could go easy on the friend. He's a law abiding citizen, but tries to help friends when he thinks that they are being treated unfairly. Joe may have gave him false information."

"Is this property that the friend owns?"

"Yes it is. But I can tell you where the property is."

"That would help your friend." Operator 094 wrote down the info and after the caller hung up, she jumped up and went to her supervisor's office with the tip.

**\Tell me what you think of this chapter. I searched for info on what Joe's middle name is and couldn't find one for him or Frank. And yep...Joe's name really is Joseph. I read it in a couple of the books. You'd think that Frank would be the one with the long name because of how much of Joe's exact opposite he is. But, that's not the case. And here is something else that's odd, In one book, he (Frank) comments that he grew up in the same house all of his life, yet there are constant references to his father being a New York cop and in the book series for the brothers when they are supposed to be kids they move into the house. And I know that Frank and Vachel-Thiery were supposed to have their conversations in English, but because there are alot more people hanging around, someone might over hear./**


	20. The Truth Is Learned and Doubts Begin

Joe paced in the small cabin. He and Callie had only been there for a couple of hours, but Joe was already starting to feel the walls closing in on him. "Knock it off. Your nerves are starting to bug my nerves."

"Can't help it. It's just I can't figure out why Frank's acting the way that he is."

"Do you think Taylor did it?"

"No...that's just it. I don't think that she had anything to do with it at all."

"Why do you say that?"

"Frank started acting strange after he talked with Taylor's uncle."

"What was said?"

"Don't know. He talked with Frank alone."

"So what do you think happened?"

"I wish I could tell you. The next thing I know, Nancy and her boyfriend are acting differently also. And every time they did, Taylor wasn't around."

"It's a good thing that Tony gave you the keys to this place."

"I just hope..." Joe stopped pacing and thought for several seconds. Frank was friends with Tony also. Everyone that knew Tony knew that he was the type to help out if he could. "We're leaving." Joe grabbed Callie's hand and dragged her toward the door. After starting the car, he wasted no time in driving away as fast as he could. A few minutes after they left OZT agents swarmed the address.

"WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT? YOU COULD HAVE GIVEN ME BETTER WARNING THAT THAT! Callie screamed at Joe as they sped down the highway.

"Sorry about that. But think about it, Frank knows Tony just like we do."

"Good point. I feel like I'm being chased by too many people. The Good Guys want me because of what they think I did. The Bad Guys want me because they want to get me in trouble with the Good Guys. And to top it all off, a Deadly Girl wants me because of reasons I don't understand."

"Taylor hates you because you were there with us when her father was killed. And I think she really cares for Frank."

"She's got a sick way of showing it."

"Tell me about it. I need to get to a computer."

"Why?"

"I want to hack into the Network database."

"Why?"

"Simple, I want to find out the truth about Taylor."

"Let's see...SHE'S AN ASSASSIN!"

"I don't think so. I think she's more or less an Assassin in Training."

"And that's supposed to be a good thing!?!?"

"What I'm saying is that..."

"Let me get this straight...Taylor wants to kill you, she's basically taken over the world, and you're coming up with excuses for her."

"Callie, I want to make sure that she's..."

"The evil little witch that she's acting like. I wish I could say that I don't understand, but I guess I do." Callie frowned at him as they drove along. "So who are the real Bad Guys in all of this?"

"The Assassins."

"And the real Good Guys?"

"The Network."

"And thanks to the Assassins, everyone's going after the Network."

"You got it."

"What I've got is a headache."

Joe found himself at Bayport University and drove carefully until he saw what he was looking for. A student had forgotten to take their laptop in with them. A door was unlocked, as if the student had been in a hurry. Joe went over and grabbed the laptop and fled with it. A few miles away, he was in the Network's database. This time, searching more carefully, he discovered that Taylor had from the moment of birth been taught how to be an Assassin and would not be considered one until she killed an impossible to destroy target. In other words...him. She had no clue about this, however. The one time that the Network had gained access to her was when they found the legal means of using a psychologist to talk to her when she was young. The report at that time was startling...

WESTBROOKE, TAYLOR

Young Taylor is clearly interested in making her father, Al-Rousasa proud of her and in her mindset, that would mean becoming exactly like him. While she has no idea what her father does 'for a living', I fear that with the training that she is being given, she will surpass him as far as how ruthless she is. Taylor has a level of hatred toward the Gray Man that cannot be ignored because she has been told that he murdered her grandfather in cold blood and her mother as well. Taylor, despite her young age has expressed a want to kill the Gray Man and to destroy the Network. We can not remove her from the Assassins at this time. Her mental state is far too fragile for such an event to do any good. Also, with the 'training' that she is being given, I fear that any attempt to rescue her would put the Network in an even more negative light with her. We can only stand on the sidelines and hope that the mental conditioning does not work as well as they want it to. If anything happens between now and when we will be able to rescue Taylor, I fear that it might either strengthen her resolve to become an Assassin or it might be just the very thing needed to stop her. Al-Rousasa is thus far the only person that has shown any genuine concern for Taylor. This may be a good thing or a bad thing. If we can capture him alive, we may be able to rescue Taylor and convince Al-Rousasa to give up a lot of inside information at the same time. If we fail, we may bring about the start of the most deadliest Assassin ever.

Joe stared for several seconds. The Assassins were cold-blooded, but the report brought something to mind. He could imagine Taylor as a child, wanting to make the adults around her happy, so she took in everything that she was being taught and the only person that ever gave her a smile, a hug was the most deadliest man that ever walked the earth. He tried not to feel sick with the thought that not once did her 'family members' do anything that would give her a normal childhood. What did they give her for her birthday while growing up? Did they do anything that didn't involve murder and destruction? Did they ever think to give her comfort if she got hurt?

"What's wrong?" Callie grabbed the laptop and read the information for herself. When she was done, she was horrified. In her own mind she saw the many times as a child she went with her parents somewhere and would ask for a doll or a book or what ever caught her eye. They would laugh, pretend to think about it, and if she had been good, they'd get it for her. What happened to Taylor? She thought back to how she would eagerly await the arrival of 'Santa' and would be impressed with the fact that he not only enjoyed the Christmas cookies that she and her mother had made fresh that morning with the milk that she had put out with them, but was able to go and get a blanket to cover her with and leave the gifts without waking her up. What did Taylor do? 'They were probably too busy teaching her how to kill people to give her time off to act her age.' Callie thought bitterly. And even then, what kind of gifts did they give her? 'My First Bomb Kit'? Callie sighed and shook her head. Part of her wanted to despise Taylor, but part of her wanted to do something to help her. "Okay, what do we do now?"

"What?" Joe was taken by surprise at the determination in Callie's voice.

"We just found proof that Taylor's a victim just like us. I mean, she's done a lot of things, but who can blame her? Look at what she grew up with."

"I've got an idea."

Taylor was busy reading a report when her IM screen lit up. Frowning, she clicked on it and was shocked by what she saw. There was a message from Joe...

Joe-/We need to talk./

Taylor-/About what? I thought I made it clear. I'm going to get rid of you and that Shaw girl as well. I'm almost finished with the Network./

Joe-/And what about the innocent people that are getting in the way?/

Taylor-/I don't know what you are talking about?/ her hands shook slightly as she typed.

Joe-/What about the people that are getting hurt while you try to get revenge?/

Taylor-/A small price to pay/

Joe-/You've been so busy trying to impress Al-Rousasa, that you forgot about someone./

Taylor-/And that person is?/

Joe-/Your mother./

Taylor-/Don't talk to me about that woman! She lied to my father!/

Joe-/And you lied to Frank. Haven't you noticed that he started listening to you and working on your side long before you told him anything...If you have told him anything./

Taylor-/That's not true!/ But she couldn't help but think about it.

Joe-/Annette's alive./

Taylor-/Now I know you're lying! The Gray Man killed her and my aunt and my uncle./

Joe-/Are you sure about that?/

Taylor-/It was never part of the plan for them to die./

Joe-/What kind of a condition was he kept in? I don't think they would have allowed him to walk around without something in his system./

Taylor-/That's none of your business...Stop trying to confuse me./ Taylor felt her doubts starting to rise and did everything in her power to stop them from getting to her.

Joe-/You're the one that's confusing yourself. Taylor...I didn't drop your father, he let go. You might not believe me, but I was trying to save him./

Taylor-/What makes you think I believe that? What would you have gained if you had?/

Joe-/Remember how you said that he never had justice? That's all I wanted for Iola./

Taylor-/I.../ Quickly, she turned the computer off and fled from the office. Once in her room, she began to pace. Exactly what had happened that day? She had been taught all her life that the Assassins were fighting against the Network, trying to bring about peace all over the world by using means that would later be justified. 'It is the winners that write the history books. People claim they want peace, but ignore the fact that you must shed blood to get it. If you destroy those that use pretty little words and foolish greedy actions, you can spread peace a lot faster.' Her father taught her that. At times one must look at the logical standpoint, and not use their heart. Taylor thought about what Joe had told her. Wanting to see the man that he thought murdered the person he loved in jail would make sense...but why did the spy that they have there make the claim that Joe had done it on purpose? He was proving to be a difficult target. Taylor glanced at her reflection and for a moment, thought that she was seeing a ghost. She looked so much like the woman that she despised...no that was too strong a word. She didn't despise her mother...she felt anger that she never really got to know her. A voice at the door made her turn quickly. Frank was standing there, watching her with concern. "I'm fine." She gave a false smile and added, "I was just trying to get some one off my mind."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's not that important. Tell me, where are we in dealing with your brother?"

"He got away from OZT, just as I thought he would."

"Good. Now that he has nowhere to turn, we should prepare for the final strike." Taylor watched him as he walked out. She then sighed and asked out loud, "Am I like you? I'm still lying to him. When did your lies stop?"


	21. The Last Words of Truth

Taylor waited calmly in her office as the man walked in with her secretary. She knew that working would keep her mind on what she needed it on and not the strange thoughts that Joe Hardy had put there. The secretary bowed slightly and introduced the visitor, "Mr Paul Reynard is here to see you."

"Thank you. Make sure that we are not disturbed by the other house guests." Once the secretary left, Taylor switched to French, "Je suis content pour voir que vous êtes arrivé ponctuellement. Votre compagnie vient extrêmement recommandé.." /I am glad to see that you arrived promptly. Your company comes highly recommended./

"Comment peux-je vous aider?"/How may I help you?/

"J'ai besoin de l'information sur quelqu'un. Comme vous savez déjà, je suis déterminé de voir une fin à un ennemi que nous avons." /I need information on someone. As you already know, I am determined to see an end to an enemy that we both have./

"Le Réseau." /The Network./

"Oui, aussi je souhaite amener une fin à la personne qui a tué mon père. Mais il y a quelques choses que je veux faire certain que cette personne ne peut pas remettre ma tête. Il a fait des réclamations que je veux confirmé ou nié. Un de ces réclamations est que quelqu'un très cher à moi que j'ai pensé mort est en fait vivant."/Yes, also I wish to bring an end to the person that killed my father. But there are some things that I want to make certain that this person can not hang over my head. He has made claims that I want confirmed or denied. One of those claims is that someone very dear to me that I thought dead is in fact alive./

"Je l'examinerai." /I shall look into it./

"Aussi, je veux que soigneusement me vous soyez assuré que les projets qui ont été réglés en avant sont exécuté. Je veux que le Réseau pour ait payé qu'ils ont fait à mon grand-père et à mon. ..my mère. Ils l'ont tournée contre ma famille et utilisé elle comme un espion. Ils ont tourné alors leur dos sur elle. Je veux tout apprendre que vous pouvez découvrir cela." /Also, I want you to carefully make sure that the plans that have been set forth are carried out. I want the Network to pay for what they did to my grandfather and to my...my mother. They turned her against my family and used her as a spy. They then turned their back on her. I want to learn everything that you can find out about that./

"Comme vous souhaitez." /As you wish./

"Combien ceci tous me coûtera?" /How much will all of this cost me?/

"Autour de vingt millions augmente le devant et encore vingt million a complété une fois." /Around twenty million up front and another twenty million once completed./

"Consenti." /Agreed./

"Peux-je demander pourquoi vous nous engagez ? Certainement vos propres gens peuvent..." /May I ask why are you hiring us? Certainly your own people can.../

"Je ne veux personne qui est déjà trop proche à ceci le traite. J'ai besoin d'un parti impartial qui soigne seulement d'une chose. ..money. Cela doit vous montrer combien je vous fie. Je sais que vous doublerez la croix me si quelqu'un vous paie plus que j'ai fait. En fait, je ne serais pas choqué du tout si cela était d'arriver." /I don't want anyone that is already too close to this working on it. I need an unbiased party that only cares about one thing...money. That should show you how much I trust you. I know that you'll double cross me if someone pays you more than I did. In fact, I wouldn't be shocked at all if that were to happen./

"Au moins, pas sans moi essayant d'obtenir plus de vous." /At least, not without me trying to get more from you./

"Exactement." /Exactly./

"Je vous obtiendrai que vous avez voulu." /I will get you what you wanted./

"Merci." /Thank you./

Joe kept an eye out as Callie met with Tony to find out what he knew about the search on his place where they had been staying. A few minutes later, she returned with a few boxes of pizza and information. "Someone tipped the OZT off about where we were. That someone gave up as much of your information as they had to prove it wasn't a hoax."

"Frank."

"That's what Tony thought too. He said that they didn't arrest him because the caller said that it wasn't his fault that he's too trusting."

"At least Tony won't go to jail."

"Yeah, and he gave us something to eat." As they drove away from the mall, Callie added, "How did it go with Taylor?"

"Not too good. She thinks I'm making it up."

"Great."

"It's a little funny and scary at the same time. I never gave it a second thought that the Assassins were using her, but then again, after all the false trails..."

"Same here. Now what?"

"We're going to Westbrooke Manor."

"ARE YOU CRAZY? ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US ARRESTED?"

"No one would think to look for us there."

"I hope not. I really hope not."

Frank turned away from the window to look at Paul Reynard. "And what did she want?"

"Just like you thought...Information."

"I see. And how much are you being paid?"

"A little less than what you're paying me."

"I want you to listen very carefully. Find out what you can about the Network for her, but learn nothing about the rest."

"That would raise your price up a little."

"I'll pay you $450,000,000 to make that happen."

"Consider it done."

"For you sake, it will be." Frank waited until Reynard had left before turning to the man that was standing in the shadows. "My brother is starting to get to her."

"I can see that. I hoped that it would not come to this." Vachel-Thiery sighed and added, "Bring Taylor to me."

Taylor was interested in what was so important that Frank, Nancy and Ned wanted to talk with her in the library. Once there, she turned to look at them. "Can you tell me now what's going on?"

"We know that Joe contacted you." Frank told her as the door closed.

"And what has that got to do with anything? We both know that he was making up everything that he was saying." Taylor responded, uncertain as to where this was going.

"Taylor, you're starting to lose your resolve. Against an enemy like Joe, that's not a good thing." Nancy informed her. Taylor glanced at her and then toward Ned. "We're only doing this because we care about you and the cause." Frank and Ned grabbed Taylor by her arms. Struggling she stared at them in shock. Before she could use her training, Taylor heard a voice behind her calmly telling her that it was for the best. Taylor's eyes widened in shock as she was forced to turn around. Staring at Vachel-Thiery for several seconds, she finally whispered, "You're...alive?"

"Yes, child. You see, your father and I knew that one day you would have to surpass even him. That is why I made certain that you were well trained. Now that your time is almost here, you will need to be as clear minded as needed to take your proper place. But then again, with the help of your husband, the Assassins will gain more control than we thought possible."

"I don't understand."

"Dear child, you must be shown the error of allowing an enemy to get to you. Joe has placed doubts in your mind that can not be put up with. I am doing this out of concern for you."

"What? Doing what?" Taylor stared at the needle in her uncle's hand as he walked over. "You're going to drug me? But why?"

"Your mind must be in control, not your heart." Vachel-Thiery gave her a grim smile as he added, "You act more and more like your traitor of a mother every day. She betrayed us and ignored her chances of coming back. She went as far as trying to get the Gray Man to take you from us."

"But he killed Grandfather."

"It was an accident, in a manner of speaking. But it no longer matters. The Network will fall and Joe Hardy will fall with them."

"This won't work forever. I'll remember how you used me."

"Dear child, it worked very well on Frank. Oh, don't get too angry at him. He does care for you. No drug on this earth can make a person fake that. But dear child, it is clear that you need some guidance. When you are in your rightful place, and you see just how wrong you were for your doubts, you will seek me out to thank me, and give up these petty thoughts for revenge."

"Is what Joe told me the truth? He did try to save my father?"

"Yes, Taylor...it is." This was the last thing she heard before it felt as if she had left the ground.


	22. Bess To The Rescue A Start of The End

Bess looked around carefully as she snuck down the hall. She had followed the others and wanted to find out what was going on. Hearing voices, she ducked into a supply closet and watched as her friends walked past with a man that she had never seen before. Taylor wasn't with them, and Bess was worried. Sneaking back out, she went down the hall a little more and peeked in different doors until she found Taylor. Struggling against something that Bess couldn't see, Taylor looked up and pointed to a doctor's bag. Bess grabbed it and went over to Taylor. Opening it, Taylor pulled out a vial of something and a needle. Filling the needle with some of the vial's contents, she injected herself. With a groan, she fell to the floor. Bess hovered near her, uncertain what to do. Taylor stood slowly. As she did so, she growled in anger, "L'oncle, vous auriez dû savoir que cela ne me traiterait pas. Vous m'avez trahi aussi et couché à moi."

"What?"

"I said, 'Uncle, you should have known that wouldn't work on me. You have also betrayed me and lied to me.' I thank you for your help, Bess."

"I thought your uncle was dead."

"So did I." Taylor recapped the needle and placed it in her pocket. "It seems that a lot of things aren't what they are supposed to be." Going over to the door, she closed it and turned to Bess. "I want your word that you will tell no one about what happened in here. If you do, you could end up like them."

"Like who?"

"Your friends, and like Frank."

"What's wrong with them?"

"A very powerful mind control drug. My uncle tried to use it on me, but he forgot that he taught me how to resist it. If you hadn't gotten here when you did, I might not have been able to resist much longer. I was able to trick him, but..." Taylor shook her head. "What brought you this way to start with?"

"I was starting to get worried. Everyone's acting so weird."

"I know and I apologize."

"What are you talking about?"

"Is George still acting like herself?"

"Yes."

"Good. Find her and Frank's family along with Chet and his parents. Don't include Iola. She's like them as well."

"What's going on?"

"It's time I told the truth. All of it. Locate Callie's parents as well."

Three hours later, everyone was gathered in a secret office only known of by Taylor. Looking at each of them, she said slowly, "I owe something to all of you. I have to tell you why all of this is going on. You see, my grandfather was killed long before I was born by Arthur Gray, known as the Gray Man. He worked with the Network and had reasons to think that my grandfather was working with a group known as the Assassins. I don't know all of the details, but he accidentally killed my grandfather and this caused my uncle and one of my aunts to join the Assassins to gain revenge. My mother went to work with the Network and was under cover when she met my father. The aunt that didn't follow to the Assassins was murdered, though I have to be honest, I have no clue as to why. When it was learned who my mother was really working with, she was set up and killed. My father went to Bayport to murder Phillip Walker and..." She stopped and looked away. "Joe was responsible for his accidental death I was told that he murdered my father, but I recently learned the truth about what had happened. I was angry when I learned what had 'happened' to him and vowed revenge. I fear that I lied to all of you. I went to Bayport with the thought of destroying Joe and later killing him. He was telling you the truth. The majority of what has happened has been to bring about his end. Also, to destroy the Network. My uncle never told me the truth about anything...my mother...what happened to my father...none of it." She looked at them and added, "If I had known any of this, I never would have been a part of it. That is the truth. All of the attacks are being carried out by Assassins to place the blame on the Network. My uncle is up to something, but I don't know what. There is something going on that I don't understand, and he's using Frank in order to pull it off." She walked away slightly and turned to look at them. "I give you my word of honor that I will do all that I can to undo what has been done. I have to find a safe place for all of you because the moment they find out that not only am I not under their control you have been informed of what's happening, they'll make sure that you've been brainwashed as well."

"Why are you telling us this now?" Mr. Hardy asked her thoughtfully.

"I made a horrendous mistake and I want to make things right. I never meant for it to get this out of hand. I never took the time to think about what I was doing. If none of you trust me, I understand." Mrs. Hardy went over to Taylor and placed her arms around her. "Young lady, you are a part of this family and I want to make sure that you get a second chance." After a moment, the others agreed with Mrs. Hardy.

"Taylor, will that stuff you used on yourself work on Frank and the others?" Bess asked Taylor

"I think so...why?"

"If we can get them away from here, we could get them back to normal."

"I know what you're thinking. No...I won't allow it. I'm not going to let you, any of you, place yourselves in anymore danger. I'm getting you to safety and that's final."

"And where will we be safe?" Aunt Gertrude asked her calmly.

"I...well..." Taylor looked from one face to another. "I can not agree to this."

"Taylor, we can't just vanish into thin air. That will make the Assassins certain that something is going on." Mr. Hardy told her in a logical tone.

"But..." Taylor saw that he was right. "What do you suggest?"

"If we could find a way to get in touch with Joe, I think I have something in mind."

Joe was surprised at the fact that the original Westbrooke Manor was still empty. And as he had guessed, no one was looking for them there at all. He had turned on the computer that was in the library and had left his instant messenger on. It was a calculated risk, but there was no other way to find out if Taylor believed what he had told her by now or not. Just as he was about to turn it off, a message appeared...

Taylor:/You're taking a big risk right now. If I wanted to, I could trace this to where you are and inform OZT./

Joe:/I don't think you will./

Taylor:/You're right, I won't. I found out that you were telling me the truth. I apologize for my actions toward you./

Joe:/What convinced you?/

Taylor:/My uncle attempted to do the same thing to me that he has done to Frank. I was lucky. It seems that I am a little more stubborn than I thought I was. The drug failed. Your father came up with an idea that I think is insane, but there is no way around using it./

Joe:/What are you talking about?/

Taylor:/Uncle not only has Frank under his control, but Nancy and Ned as well. I fear that the only way to get them away from him is to 'kidnap' them./

Joe:/What's the plan?/

They spent several minutes working out the details and soon were ready to start.

Joe lowered the bill on the ball cap and got on the private plane with the rest of the crew. One person that was getting off glanced at him in confusion as the door closed. The person shrugged and walked away. On the flight, Joe glanced around at the others. Near the back, Callie was wearing a similar outfit, was pretending to be asleep. When the plane landed on the private island, Joe and Callie got off with the others and slipped into the main house. They saw Taylor in a conversation with Nancy and Ned, talking as if she were under her uncle's control. Next to her was Killer, who was on a leash. Joe was thankful for that much. The last thing they needed was the dog to decide to pounce and give him away. Joe waited for her to notice them. Walking over, she whispered, "Is everything ready?"

"I heard them say that they were refueling the plane and that they would be ready for take off in 15 minutes."

"Good." Taylor turned away from him and told Nancy, "There's a problem at the plane. We should take care of it." Nancy nodded and she and Ned followed her and Joe to the plane. Once there, Callie tossed a gun to Joe. When he caught it, he aimed at Taylor while Callie covered Nancy and Ned with another one. "Well well well. It's nice to see my dear sister-in-law again."

"What do you want?" Taylor pulled off a look of anger perfectly. Without Nancy or Ned noticing, she gave Killer the command to tease, only because it made him sound dangerous.

"You'll find out. Call him off."

"Killer, sit." The dog stopped growling and took a seat next to her. "You were saying something about what you wanted from us."

"We're going to take a little trip. Nancy, I want you to go inside and grab Bess and George. Bring back any one else and..." He made sure that she saw that his aim was at Taylor's heart. Nancy glared at him and went indoors. A short time later, she returned with Bess and George following her. Joe smirked at Taylor and added, "I know just how good you are, Taylor. That's why you're going to let Ned handcuff you, understand?"

"Perfectly." While the others watched, Ned locked the handcuffs around Taylor's wrists. After that, under Joe's orders, Bess did the same thing to Nancy, Ned and George. Callie handcuffed Bess and they were led onto the plane. Joe tied their ankles and glanced at Callie, "I'm going to look for Frank."

"What are you thinking?" Callie hissed as she pulled him to the side. "That wasn't part of the plan."

"I know. I can't just leave him here. I have to try. I'm going to look for Iola and Chet also."

"Again...not part of the plan."

"What do you expect? I rarely do things according to plan anyway." Joe slipped off the plane and went into the main house again. Inside he found Iola and Chet talking to Mr. Hardy. Sneaking up behind Iola, Joe grabbed her and placed a hand over her mouth. Chet glared and hissed that it wasn't part of the plan. "I know, I know. But I'm getting both of you out of here." Chet shook his head and told him that he had to stay behind. Joe shrugged and carried Iola to the plane. Once there, he tied her up and went back in. When he reached the hidden office, he heard behind him, "Looking for me?" Joe turned and saw Frank standing there, arms crossed and a slight smirk on his face.

"You know me so well." Joe glared at him and demanded, "What makes you think that I'm going to let you stay like this?"

"Stay like what?"

"Like this." Joe motioned at him with a wave of disgust. "You're not acting like yourself. I don't know what Vachel-Thiery did."

"And what was that?"

"The psycho brainwashed you."

"Wrong. He opened my eyes and let's just say, the Network is the real evil." Frank started forward. Joe moved carefully. He knew that there was only one way in or out and that was the door that was behind Frank

"So now what? You're going to kill me?" Joe started trying to circle his brother.

"Not yet. You aren't completely alone yet. There are still those that have an...interest in you." Frank moved so that he could keep an eye on Joe.

"And then what?"

"You'll see." Frank was now completely away from the door. "Run, Joe. Run while you can."

"As you can see, your brother knows what side to be on." Joe turned and saw Vachel-Thiery standing there. "Now, I suggest you do what he said." Joe spotted the doctor's bag in Vachel-Thiery's hand and made a split decision. Heading for the door, he paused only for a second and grabbed the doctor's bag. Before Vachel-Thiery could react, Joe had the bag and was running out of the door. He made it back to the plane and a few moments later it was taking off.

Joe gave the antidote to the mind control drug to Nancy, Ned and Iola. As a back up, he used it on Bess and George as well. Once everyone's heads were clear, and they were untied, he asked Taylor, "What now?"

"Simple. As far as everyone on the island is concerned, we've been kidnapped. They won't figure out what had happened until it's time. We need to get to Los Angeles and start doing damage control."

"What's so important about LA?"

"I don't know. All I know is that Frank was sending a lot of Assassins there. I suspect that my uncle had something in mind and was waiting until the right moment to start working on it. For now, every one should get some rest." She turned her attention to Joe and motioned him to join her. In another section of the plane, she told him, "I've got some bad news." Taking a deep breath, she added, "Frank is the one that killed the Gray Man."

"How do you know that?"

"He told me. I don't think he did it willingly. I think it happened while he was under my uncle's control."

"So what do we do now?"

"I wish I could think of something, but I can't." Taylor looked out of a window and added, "Until we can stop my... Vachel-Thiery, we're on our own."

Back on the island, inside the hidden office, Vachel-Thiery stood next to a window and asked Frank, "Are you certain?"

"Very certain, Mentor."

"I see. Where do you think they would go?"

"From the small amount of information she has, I suspect that Taylor would go toward LA."

"Your brother has cost us a powerful Assassin. I want you to go to LA and pretend to be on their side. None of them know enough to suspect you as a double agent."

"Understood, Mentor." Frank left the hidden office. Vachel-Thiery sighed and commented to another person that had been hiding in the room, "Sie sind unordentlich geworden". /You got sloppy./

"Wie ist dieser mein Fehler"?/How is this my fault?/ Annette demanded as she moved closer to him.

"Ich habe erzählt, dass Sie nicht erlauben, dass sein Bruder Sie sieht. Es ist klar, dass er gemacht hat. Wenn nicht für die Tatsache, die ich für alle Ereignisse vorbereite, wären meine Pläne durch dies zurückgesetzt worden". /I told you not to allow his brother to see you. It's clear that he did. If not for the fact that I prepare for all events, my plans would have been set back by this./

"Und was erwarten Sie den mich zu machen? Ich bin nicht ein von Ihren Lakaien, die beugen und kratzt, bevor Sie und Sie „Betreuen" ruft. Sie dürften das Geschenk der Intelligenz, oder gehabt haben, was Sie Intelligenz rufen, aber Sie sind nichts ohne Sie Puppe., Ihr so gerufener Engel des Todes". /And what do you expect me to do? I'm not one of your lackeys that bow and scrape before you and call you 'Mentor'. You may have had the gift of intelligence, or what you call intelligence, but you are nothing without you puppet., your so called Angel of Death./

"Sind Sie haben beendet"/Are you finished?/

"Nein, bin ich nicht". /No, I'm not./

"Ja Sie sind"./Yes you are./ He turned and shot her without blinking. "Sie sind sehr beendet". /You are very finished./ He looked at her body for a moment and then turned back to the window.

**/Okay, that's the end of Part Two. Hopefully I can get rid of the Writer's Block and start working on the third part soon. Don't forget to review/**


End file.
